Legacy
by SilentRain12
Summary: The death of Pirate King Luffy launches the world into a new age of piracy, where dreams and hopes run high. There's just one problem with this: the hero of our story doesn't want to be a pirate. CHARACTERS ACCEPTED!
1. Prologue: A New Beginning

Legacy

Prologue: A New Beginning

"You're not serious, are you?"

The shout rang through the halls of the palace of Alabasta, drawing the attention of many of the staff. After all, it wasn't everyday that they heard Queen Vivi yell.

The source of this outburst was staring in shock at the man in front of her, her long blue hair floating around her shoulders and making her look much younger than she actually was. Her companion was staring back at her calmly, picking his nose absently with one finger as he often did. His black hair was streaked heavily with gray, and his lined face showed the signs of someone who was always smiling. Now, however, that face was schooled into a look of complete seriousness.

"I mean what I say, Vivi," he answered.

"I don't believe this," one of the room's other occupants, a middle-aged woman with orange hair, murmured into the hands cupped around her face.

"Don't do it! There's got to be something else you could do," another chimed in, this time a blond man with curling eyebrows.

"There is not," the cause of all this trouble answered, unswayed. "You know as well as I do that people are losing their interest in piracy. I can't let that happen."

"Find another way then!" the youngest of the group, a man resembling a reindeer, cried with tears streaming down his face. With a warm smile, his black-haired companion walked over and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"It's fine Chopper," he said before turning to address the rest of the room. His entire crew, the people who had been with him longer than anyone else and who he trusted with his life, were assembled there to hear his last great plan.

"Every age needs something to trigger it," he said in an unusual display of wisdom. "You remember what Whitebeard said all those years ago? About how a new age was beginning, and there was no place on any ship for an old man like him anymore? Well, that's us now. It's time to start an age of our own. Wouldn't it be great to go down in history as the ones who started the next era of piracy?"

There was only silence after his speech. The winds could be heard through the open window as they blew across the dunes of the desert country outside, picking up sand and dropping it off somewhere else. The man crossed over to it in a few long, confident strides, staring off into the distance. Into a future that only he seemed able to see. He smiled.

"The last age was called Whitebeard. This one'll go down as The Straw Hat Pirates."

"You're wrong," his green-haired friend, who had remained silent until then, spoke up. "This was the era of Monkey D. Luffy."

~X~

The next day, Luffy sailed to the Marine Headquarters in Alabasta and turned himself in. He took no one else with him, instead disbanding the crew just before he left.

The World Government, not wanting a repeat of what had happened with Gol D. Roger, kept word of his execution from getting out. It was done in secret in the prison he was being held at. A week later, the Marines released the news that Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy was dead. It would shock people around the world, but they would just rejoice. The new era that he had so badly wanted would not come to pass.

...Or so they thought.

One month after the execution, papers around the world were telling of a shocking new story: Queen Vivi of Alabasta had just revealed the contents of the letter left to her by Strawhat before his death! It told of the treasure he and his crew had hidden right beside Gol D. Roger's famous One Piece!

Once again, people began flocking to the seas, the spirit of adventure that had almost died in them rekindled. Dreams and hopes were thriving all over the world, and it was all thanks to the death of a single man. It was the beginning of a new era.

Since then, twelve years have passed. The new age is still in full swing, with the Marines still combating the pirates like always. The world has almost returned to how it was back when Strawhat Luffy first started his legendary adventure forty years ago.

The people of the world are completely unaware of the history that is about to made over the course of the next few years, or how their futures are about to be changed. And it will all start with one boy.

* * *

**And there you have it. The first chapter of Legacy! Hope you all enjoyed, please drop me a review if you did! Now, onto more important things: characters. Yes, I need some characters, and not just that, I need some villains, friends, and rivals. As much as I need crew members, I really need other people too. So there. If you have a character, please send it to me in a review in this format, which most of you probably already know it cause this isn't exactly a new idea :p. I'll try my best to get them in!**

Name (Full):

Age:

Gender:

Specialty/Position (What they're good at, position in crew):

Race (Canon only, if possible):

Devil Fruit/Weapon/Attacks (What do they fight with? It's pretty simple. Attack names too, if they have them):

Physical Appearance (Description is good!):

History (See above for directions):

Personality (Traits, attitude, other important stuff):

Likes (Self-explanatory):

Dislikes (See above):

Dream (What do they want from life? Not necessary, but it would be helpful):

Other (Go wild):

**Thanks for your help! ^^**


	2. Chapter 1: Heading Out

Legacy

Chapter One: Heading Out

Somewhere deep in the center of South Blue, there is a little island. Known for its clear waters, warm climate, and giant palm trees, Sonica Island could almost be called a paradise. There are a few small villages dotting the coast, and a larger, more tourist-friendly city in the very center. And that is where our story starts. Or, to be more precise, it starts on a small ship floating towards that island.

Onboard the boat was a single boy relishing in the pleasant breezes coming off his destination. His long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail, swayed gently with the wind while alert golden eyes scanned the port he was coming up on. He was dressed simply in a sleeveless blue jacket that reached down to his knees, a yellow shirt just visible under the jacket, and loose white pants.

As the boat pulled up into the island's small harbor, the boy jumped off, expertly tying it to the dock with the ease of someone used to handling ships. His was the smallest docked there, completely dwarfed by the two giant Marine vessels on either side. Wordlessly, he sized up the other two ships, then shrugged, pulling his backpack from the bottom of his own boat and walking off towards the town before him.

Many shops lined the sides of the street, and he surveyed each, curious gaze sliding from one to the next. Finally, spotting one that sold food and other such things for traveling, he smiled slightly and began making his way over. The going got more difficult the closer he was to the shop though, as he soon found himself wading through a crowd of giggling girls.

_What's going on here?_ he wondered to himself after weaving in between two particularly stubborn girls only to run into five more. _Should I just find another shop?_

But he was already so close, and he hadn't seen anywhere else that sold what he was looking for on his way over, so the teenager decided to continue on. A tall blond head could just be made out at the center of the crowd, and he headed for that. The gossiping and sighing got louder as he moved on, and he was beginning to seriously reconsider his initial idea of finding somewhere else when suddenly, there was nothing but open air around him. Surprised by the sudden lack of resistance, he toppled forward in an ungraceful heap.

"Ow," he murmured, rubbing where he'd hit his head. It was then that the boy realized that the crowd around him had gone completely silent. Curious, he looked around until finally, his eyes came to rest on a pair of black sneakers a few feet away. Traveling upwards, the first thing he noticed was how tall the person before him was. Now, he didn't think he was all that short at five feet, six inches, but the other male could easily make him look tiny in comparison. He must have been well over six feet!

The stranger's tousled blond hair was pulled back in a short ponytail, and bright blue eyes seemed to almost jump out of the otherwise expressionless tan face. He was one of those people who had muscle but still managed to look skinny. Twin hook swords crossed on his back, both with blue hilts of a similar color to his eyes. The young man was dressed casually in a pair of black cargo shorts and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Who are you?" the blond asked, tilting his head slightly in question.

"It's generally best to give your own name before asking others," the black haired teen pointed out. The others eyebrows raised fractionally, but otherwise showed no other signs of surprise.

"Yes, I guess that is customary," the older boy conceded. "I'm sorry, I thought everyone around here knew my name. I'm Akihiko Nakamori, but most people just call me Aki. It's nice to meet you."

He held out a hand to his still sitting companion, but the smaller just batted it away, preferring to stand up himself. "Skylar," he replied curtly, brushing past the other without another word. A vein pulsed on the blond's forehead.

_How dare that little brat ignore me!_ he thought angrily, but on the outside, he retained his stoic facade.

"Just Skylar?"

"Be happy I told you that," Skylar replied without looking back as he began to pick out some food for his journey. "I don't usually give out my name, and just because you felt the need to say your surname does not mean the same applies for me."

_Arrogant bastard,_ Aki thought, another vein popping.

"How dare he talk like that to our Prince Aki!" one of the girls in the crowd muttered to her friends, who nodded in agreement. The blond allowed a small, triumphant smile to ghost across his lips at the nickname. So what if this stupid boy was ignoring him? These girls still adored him as much as ever, and that was all he needed for now.

"Come on, Aki, let's leave him in his bitterness and head down to the docks," a brunette in the front row of the crowd said huffily. "We still need to get you a ship."

There was a snort from behind them, and Aki whirled to face the person he knew it had come from; Skylar, who was putting the stuff he was going to buy on the counter. He had been going for his wallet to pay for them, but couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous notion the girl had just presented.

"Do you have some problem with that, Skylar?" the twenty-year-old asked acidly. The other just shrugged, but the contemptuous smirk stayed on his lips as he glanced between Aki and the supplies in his hands.

"I just hope that's not all you're planning on bringing with you when you set sail, or else you won't last long."

He had never wanted to strangle someone quite so badly as he did now. Grabbing the others wrist, the blond dragged him through the crowd, completely ignoring his protests.

"Hey, I still need to pay for that stuff!" Skylar yelled, motioning back towards the stunned shopkeeper and the food in the woman's hands.

"Get it later," his companion growled. The sea of girls parted neatly to let the two through, curious glances following them as they went. "If you ladies would excuse me," he called over his shoulder with a nod. "Skylar and I need to have a nice man-to-man chat. _Alone._"

Another snort. Although the shorter boy wasn't putting up any resistance, he wasn't helping either, dragging his feet against the ground in an obvious attempt to tire the blond out. But Aki wasn't that weak. He was proud of his body, and with good reason. Thanks to hours of working out and sword training, he was at the peak of health. And he'd be damned if he gave some disrespectful shortie any reason to think otherwise.

"So...where exactly are you taking me?" Skylar asked in a bored tone.

"If you'd help a little, we could go faster, and then you'd find out."

"Hm. Nah, don't think I will."

He ground his teeth together, but kept going all the same. Soon enough – though not as soon as he would have hoped thanks to a certain black haired boy – they came to a cliff overlooking the beach on the outskirts of town, surprisingly deserted on the beautiful day.

"What, you gonna push me off?" Skylar challenged.

"Will you just stop, you insufferable, arrogant brat!" Aki finally shouted, his personality doing a complete one-eighty. He'd had about enough, and there was no use keeping up his usual mask around someone who obviously didn't care. "You mock me, annoy me, and worst of all, you _ignored_ me. _Me! _Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Akihiko Nakamori," the smaller replied flatly.

"Damn straight I am, shortie! You better remember it too, cause someday soon, you won't be able to go anywhere without hearing it.

"What are you talking about?"

"You heard me! Someday, the entire world will be calling my name. Everyone will know of my greatness! That is my dream!" Aki declared proudly.

"...Dream?" he echoed.

"Of course," the blonde replied imperiously. "Every man needs a dream. It's the reason we grow stronger, and why we go out to sea in this magnificent age!" he paused in his speech, considering something. "Speaking of which, what's your dream?"

"What?"

"Well, you seem to know a lot about sailing, and you're new here, so I assume you came here by boat, right?" he deduced. Skylar nodded. "Why are you out on the seas? What's your dream?"

"I...I don't have anything great or noble like that," the teenager replied slowly, for once not meeting the others eyes. "I'm just looking for someone."

"I didn't know I was that famous."

"Not you!"

"I was just kidding, learn to take a joke brat." What the other had said finally seemed to sink in, as Aki tilted his head questioningly. "Wait. You mean you're not trying to be a pirate?"

"No!" Skylar replied vehemently. "I don't want to be a pirate. _Ever._"

"Oh. Well, that's a bit disappointing," the blonde sighed. "And here I was going to ask you to join my crew."

"You're kidding right?"

"Not at all. Every pirate needs a crew, and despite you being the incorrigible smart ass you are, I'm low on options." He turned to look at the village below with a faraway look in his eyes. "Most of the adults here used to be pirates. This entire village was formed by a crew of people from the Grand Line who decided they found what they were looking for and came home. Problem is, none of them want to go back to sea, and neither do any of their children. Nowadays, pirates are looked down on here. I haven't told anyone exactly what I'm setting sail for. They all think I'm going to join the Marines. They're wrong."

He plopped down on the edge of the cliff, dangling his long legs over the side carelessly. Skylar, wanting to hear the rest of what he had to say despite himself, sat beside him and motioned for him to go on.

"When I leave here, I'll probably never see this place again. Whether I die or achieve my dream, I won't be able to come back because odds are, I won't be wanted. Still..." Aki trailed off, the distant look returning to his eyes. "I want to go. See the seas, meet people, and fight, like all those pirates in the stories. You know the ones: Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard, and Monkey D. Luffy. Wouldn't it be amazing to be remembered like them? To go down in history, to have the whole world know my name...that's what I'm going to do, or die trying. Even if it means never seeing my home again."

"You know, it sounds a lot more noble when you put it like that," Skylar sighed. "You're not all that bad when you're being yourself."

"So...does that mean you'll help me?" Aki asked hopefully, blue eyes sparkling slightly with hope.

"I don't think-" he was cut off by a scream from below.

"What was that?" the blonde exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Hell if I know," Skylar replied, scanning the village below for any signs of the disturbance. He found it near the shop they'd left only moments ago, where a group of Marines were surrounding some of the girls who had yet to leave. "Over there," he pointed.

"Damn Marines," the other narrowed his eyes. "Not again."

"_Again_? This has happened before?"

"This is a town of former pirates, remember? What Marine officer's going to say to his subordinates that they should be helping the village people?" Aki muttered, a murderous look in his eyes as he pulled out one of the swords on his back. "We're probably lucky that none of our parents have been arrested yet."

"You're not...actually going to attack them, are you?" the black haired boy asked. When he received no answer from his companion, he shouted, "That's crazy, they're Marines! You'll be arrested!"

"Hasn't stopped me yet, isn't going to now," the blonde answered in a low voice, and with that, he took off towards the town. Skylar just watched him go with a worried look.

"You're an idiot," he murmured before sprinting after him. "And now I'm gonna have to go save you. Geez, this is _not_ what I needed right now."

~X~

Aki ran through the town at top speed, anger giving his feet wings as he flew through the familiar streets. Why did this have to happen now of all times, the one day when he wasn't there to protect the girls? Incidents like this had happened before, sure, but he'd always been around to help. Now, he was just hoping he wouldn't be too late.

As he rounded the last corner, the young man caught sight of a group of Marines leering at the terrified girls they were surrounding. They were saying something, but the furious roaring in his ears drowned out all other sounds. Darting forward, he knocked out two of the men with the flat of his sword before any of them even saw him coming. Leaping back, he grabbed it's twin from his back and brandished the weapons in front of him threateningly.

"I'll be your opponent, bastards," he challenged, blue eyes flashing with anger. There were ten of them against one of him, yet he wasn't afraid. Three charged him at once, but he blocked their attacks, dodging the one's punch and catching the others cutlasses with the hooked ends of his own blades. A few kicks and another hit with the flat of one of the swords dispatched these men too, leaving him against seven.

The rest of the fight was a blur for the blond, a mess of kicks, hits, and punches that finally ended with him taking the victory. The girls had all fled at some point during it, but he couldn't remember when. As he observed his work with satisfaction, movement at the corner of his vision caught his attention. Turning to face the newcomer, he was shocked to find himself staring down a commander, if the badge on the man's shoulder was anything to go by, and suddenly realized how bad this must have looked.

"Um, I can explain-" Aki started, but was cut off by the other shaking their head.

"No, I should be apologizing for my men's actions," he said, looking around at the fallen Marines with disgust. Walking over, he rested a hand on the blond's shoulder. "I really am sorry. I'll have them all disciplined when we get back to the ship."

"Thank you, that would be best," his companion agreed just as a fist was slammed into his gut. He coughed, falling to his knees with a pained grunt. The commander met his glare with a smirk.

"Just kidding," he said, delivering a sharp kick to the boy on the ground. And another. Then a second punch. "You shouldn't be so gullible, dumbass!"

Aki gritted his teeth, tensing up in anticipation of the next blow, but at the last second, a flash of blue and white shot out of a side alley, catching the punch before it could land. The blond's eyes widened upon identifying his savior.

"S-Skylar?"

The boy in question's gaze flickered back for a second before moving to lazily survey the scene around them. A smirk touched his lips at the sight of all the beaten Marines. "Hm," he hummed softly in admiration. "Not bad."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the commander roared, still in shock from the sudden speed of the teenager's movements and the fact that his punch had actually been stopped.

"...Just a random stranger," Skylar replied at length before smiling brightly. "One who doesn't know the ways of this island. Is is normal here for a Marine to attack the villagers? Or..." the smile turned into a knowing smirk. "Have you maybe been abusing your powers a little, mister?"

"You know nothing about this pla-"

"Now there we can agree," the boy interrupted. "I don't know anything about this island, but I _do_ know a little something about the Marines. And if I remember correctly, I don't believe terrorizing innocent islanders was in the job description."

"A smart ass, huh?" the man said bitterly. "Your kind are the ones I hate the most, even more than the righteous types like him," he jerked a thumb at Aki before continuing. "The people who think they're real hot shit."

"Well, it's okay to think things like that if they're true," Skylar shot back with a smirk, completely unfazed. It was at this that his sitting companion finally found his voice.

"Don't fight him!" Aki warned, taking in the man's angry red face with apprehension. "He's a commander!"

"I am aware of that. Contrary to popular belief, I _can_ in fact see the badge on his shoulder."

A fist swung out of nowhere, and it seemed like there was no way he would be able to dodge it. "You should've listened to your friend when you had the chance, cause now you're gonna die!" the commander cried with savage glee as the punch drew nearer to his opponent's face. But there was something wrong. It almost looked like the boy was was no fear in his eyes, only bored resignation.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the man's hand slammed into a solid wall of..._ice?_ A barrier of it had been erected in the air around Skylar's face, blocking his attack.

"What the..." Aki was once again at a loss for words, only able to stare in shock at the other, who was sighing again.

"With you as my witness, this is self-defense," he told the blond, who nodded mutely in agreement. "Alright. Now that that's out of the way, what do you say we get started?"

"Y-you can't be," the Marine stuttered as he watched the wall dissolve and more ice begin to gather into some sort of shape in Skylar's hand. "You're...you're a devil fruit user?"

"Correct," the boy acknowledged, giving his translucent new scythe a few experimental swings. The curved blade was at least three feet long with a wicked-looking point at the end. The staff part of it was made of a slightly darker colored ice, and probably a good five feet long. Apparently finding it to his liking, he gave the man a devilish smile that sent chills running up his spine. "Someone give the man a prize."

"How'd a brat like you get his hands on something like that?" the commander asked weakly, backing away from his slowly advancing opponent. "The only person who's ever had a fruit like that was-"

"Marine Admiral Aokiji," Skylar finished. "But he died a few years back, as everyone knows. So it's only natural that his devil fruit would reappear somewhere. As for how I got it..." he paused, seemingly considering the answer. Finally, "Well, that's none of your business."

He suddenly rushed forward, taking the Marine completely by surprise. Before the man even had time to react, Skylar was only inches away, scythe raised to strike.

"Wai-!" he never even had a chance to finish. The weapon was brought down, neatly slicing a shallow wound from the top of his left shoulder to the right hip. As he stared down in horror, ice began to blossom from the cut, spreading over his body at an impossible rate. Only seconds later, he was completely covered.

"Reaper's Judgment first form," Skylar murmured as the last bits of the ice coating solidified. "Frosted Prison."

The street was silent. Even the island's perpetual breezes had halted for a moment, as if the world was holding it's breath. Aki just watched in shock as his companion stood and rapped a fist against the frozen man's head.

"He'll probably start thawing in a day or so," Skylar said to nobody in particular. "By next week, he should be completely free."

"What did you do?" The question slipped out before he could stop it, but the blond was genuinely curious. Of course he'd heard of the devil fruits and the mysterious powers they carried, but this was his first time seeing one in action.

The golden-eyed boy opened his mouth as if to answer, but he stopped, head snapping up almost immediately after, searching the rooftops for the source of the sound he'd just heard. The sound of a picture being taken.

Sure enough, crouched on the top of a building a few yards away sat a photographer, camera clutched to her chest in fear at the murderous look the teen was giving her. Skylar started forward, intending to find the woman and break her camera before the picture had a chance of finding its way onto a bounty poster, something which would undoubtedly happen if he didn't. However, he'd only taken a few steps before his legs gave out on him and he was sent falling towards the pavement. His sudden use of power had left him drained and exhausted, and now he was paying for it.

_Dammit, why now?_ Skylar muttered. _I knew this would happen. I've got to catch her before it's too late!_

But apparently, his body didn't agree. It refused to move, and the last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him was somebody frantically calling his name.

~X~

The first thing Skylar became aware of as he woke up was his pounding headache. He wasn't a monster like some of the other fruit users out there, and using his powers genuinely tired him out. Energy was like water to him; use to much without replenishment, and he'd get 'dehydrated.' Which usually resulted in a killer headache.

As he came to, the second thing he noticed was how soft the bed below him was. He was overcome by a feeling of not wanting to get up, but the niggling thought in the back of his head asking why he was in a bed and not out on the streets wouldn't leave him alone. So in the end, he forced himself up, taking it slowly so as not to further upset his head. There was an annoying mumbling from outside that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he rubbed his ears, and he growled irritably, willing his eyes to open and face the day.

He was in a small room with wooden walls and floors of the same brown color. It was sparsely furnished with only a dresser, a bedside table, and a closet in the corner. Across the room from the bed was an open door, presumably leading to the rest of the house. The boy walked over, just able to make out voices from the other side.

"Why can't they just leave us alone?" Aki asked in annoyance, slamming the door. "I mean, if the people here are going to come in mobs, they should be coming for _me_! Not some kid I picked up off the street!"

"It's your own fault for bringing him here," a female voice that the boy didn't recognize answered. "What were you expecting? He fought with a commander, Aki. They're probably going to attack the island now. Of course the people want to get rid of him."

"You're wrong."

The voice cut through the tense atmosphere as Skylar finally made his awakening known. He stepped out from behind the door into the main room beyond. Like the bedroom, it was also low on furniture, though there were a few personal touches here and there like the vase of blue flowers sitting on top of the table in the center of the room. Seated there was a woman who he assumed was Aki's mother judging by the lines on her face and the physical similarities between them. Her son was leaning against the door, arms crossed across his chest.

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously, breaking him out of his observations.

"The Marines aren't going to attack this island just for something like that," the boy explained, taking a seat at the table as he spoke. "Odds are, nothing will happen. After all, they won't want to draw attention to what's happening here to other islands, as most people won't take kindly to the news of a commander and his men hounding a bunch of civilian girls. No, I seriously doubt they will make any move whatsoever, providing I leave, which eliminates their excuse for coming back."

He gave them a moment to digest what he'd just said. At length, the woman asked, "You're sure?"

"Almost positive."

"...Thank you," she whispered, bowing her head. "If there's anything we can do to help you-"

"I just need some stuff for traveling, but I can pay for that myself," Skylar quickly assured her, but she wasn't having any of that.

"No, no, let me. Please, it's the least I can do," the woman paused, eyes moving to her son. "...And while you're at it, could you take this idiot son of mine off my hands for a little? I'm getting old, and he needs to see more of the world."

"M-mom," Aki stuttered. She rested her hands on his shoulders comfortingly, a knowing glint in her blue eyes, so like his own.

"I know it'll kill you to leave here, but it's for your own good. Don't bother fighting with me about it, I won't listen. My mind is made up."

Skylar watched the exchange silently, gaze moving back and forth between the two. Finally, he sighed heavily, drawing their attention back to him. "Yeah, I guess I can take him for a little while," the boy said, feigning defeat.

"Really?" both cried in perfect unison.

"Yeah."

"...Well then, I guess I'll have to go, huh?" Aki asked with a nervous glance at his mother. She only smiled back.

"Got that right."

~X~

One week later, the two boys were ready to leave. Skylar had stayed with Aki and his mother for the entirety of the time, enjoying the beautiful weather the island had to offer and preparing for the journey ahead. True to her word, the woman payed for everything that they would need, and even some things that weren't absolutely necessary like a deck of cards and a few pairs of sunglasses.

"So...it's time to leave, right?" the blond remarked as he stepped outside of his house for possibly the last time on the morning of their departure. The winds were good, and it was perfect sailing weather. They were leaving very early, so he had said his good-byes last night. All except one. "Mom, I-"

"Save it," she cut him off. "Don't give me some excuse or teary good-bye. I'll be seeing you soon, mark my word. And when that day comes, I hope you've found what you're looking for. Otherwise, you won't be allowed back in this house, you hear?"

"Yeah, I got it," he smiled and gave her a hug, which she returned happily. When he wasn't looking, the woman allowed a single to tear to make its way down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away when they separated.

"Alright, now get going," she said, giving him a gentle shove to where Skylar was waiting a few yards away. "Your friend's waiting."

"Yeah," Aki began to walk away, but turned back at the last second. "Mom...thanks for everything."

"Idiot," she watched him jog away without once looking back, and was reminded of a time all those years ago when she too had left her own home to become a pirate. The tears that she'd been holding back finally came, and the woman made no move to stop them. "As if I'd need to hear you say that to know."

~X~

"So we're going to be taking your ship, right?" the blond asked once he had caught up to the other boy.

"I'm bringing you with me, but it's on one condition, got it?" Skylar stated, slinging his bag over his shoulder casually. "_I'm_ the captain."

"What?"

"As if I'd ever let _you_ be in charge of a ship!"

"But that's not fair!" the blond protested. "How can you expect someone like _me_ to serve as only first mate?"

_An excellent question_, Skylar thought irritably. "I don't remember ever saying you were going to be first mate," he countered out loud.

"You said you didn't even want to be a pirate!" Aki pointed out, ignoring the previous comment.

"I don't," was the blunt answer. "But now, thanks to you, I probably have a bounty on my head. So if I'm gonna be a pirate, then I am definitely captain."

Aki growled and began muttering to himself about stupid shorties as Skylar started down the path towards the docks. Looking back to find that his new first mate hadn't moved from his previous spot, he sighed in exasperation.

"Well?" he called, drawing the others attention back to him. "You coming or not?"

* * *

**Akihiko Nakamori is not mine. He belongs to birdie****. go. byebye********. (no spaces in their name, but FF's being mean and not letting me write what I want there).**** Thanks for letting me use him, and I hope I got him right! ^^**

**Geez, over 5,000 words! This chapter was so much longer than anything I'm used to writing. Hopefully, they'll all be this long, but who knows. About the dehydration thing, I don't know about you guys, but when I get dehydrated, I get a horrible headache. Moving on though, thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it! Hope you're all liking the story so far, we probably have a long way to go. ^^**

**Thanks again, and please review (and send more characters, if possible)!**


	3. Chapter 2: Mana

Legacy

Chapter Two: Mana

"Sky, are we almost to the next island?" Aki asked in a bored voice, dangling his arms over the side of the ship. Their boat was small, and he could almost touch the water from his current position. The spray that jumped off the waves was refreshing, but did nothing to soothe his monotony.

"I hope you're not talking to me when you use that nickname," the other replied from his position at the steering wheel without turning around.

"Oh, come on," the blond whined. "Your name's too long to say all the time!"

_Meaning you're just too lazy_, Skylar sighed inwardly. "Then maybe you should do us both a favor and stop talking so much."

"But it's so quiet out here!"

"Not with you around," the boy muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I'm so bored!" Aki exclaimed. "I don't know how you deal with it! I mean, we haven't seen a single girl since we left last week! How am I supposed to live like that?"

"I know it must be hard for you to imagine, but there are some people who can live without girls fawning over them every second," Skylar replied dryly. His first mate paused, seemingly deep in thought.

"You're right, that _is_ hard to imagine," he finally said. "We are going to have a girl or two in our crew though, right?"

"Who said anything about inviting _more_ people to join us? I have my hands full with you, and I don't think this boat could take anymore than the two of us."

"Are you trying to imply that I'm fat?"

"No, all I'm saying is that the boat has a certain weight capacity, and if we go over, we'll sink," Skylar ground his teeth. "To put it in terms that you could understand, too many people makes boat sink. Boat sinking is _bad_."

"I'm not a child," the blond mumbled sulkily. His friend snorted.

"Oh, I know. A kid could have opened that jar earlier."

"One time! And the lid was really hard to get off."

"It's called child-proofing."

"Liar!"

"Look it up, smarts," he pointed ahead to the island that was slowly coming into view. "See, there's land. I'll get you a dictionary when we get there."

"...You're mean today," Aki grumbled, getting up to help Skylar prepare for docking. With two people, the process was done in no time, and before they knew it, the boat was pulling into the harbor. The blond quickly hopped onto the dock, stretching out gratefully after a week of being trapped in the small ship. The black haired teen, less energetic in his movements, went about the familiar routine of tying their boat down so it wouldn't float away.

This particular island was the next closest to Sonica, called Sea King Island. There were no actual Sea King in the area, but the massive mountain in the center was shaped almost exactly like one, hence the name. Other than that though, it was a pretty average place, with one minor exception.

According to Aki, the only currency the people of this island would accept was fish. Beli was next to useless here, and gold's only purpose was for jewelry. Basically, no fish equaled no business. This system was probably based on the fact that over half of the population were fishermen, and the rest were chefs. Any vegetables were grown on one's own property or traded for from merchants along with things like bread and clothing. How was this island able to survive like this? Well, the fish caught here were just that good, and the chefs that prepared them even better.

"I've only been here once, but I think I remember the basic layout," the blond chattered away as they started towards the town, oblivious to the fact that Skylar was only half listening. "I think there's a pretty good restaurant that's really close, though in my opinion, they're probably all good. Did you know that a lot of the people here are cooks?"

"Hn," was the noncommittal response. The boy was too busy looking for somewhere to restock their dwindling supplies to actually pay attention to his companion. That was his excuse, and he was sticking to it.

The blond, however, had apparently spotted the restaurant and hadn't heard the last comment. Grabbing Skylar by the arm, he towed him away down the street, heading straight for eatery. "I'm so hungry," the young man complained.

"Let's get supplies first," his captain protested. "We can eat later!" Of course, just as the words left his mouth, his stomach growled. The teen blushed and looked away. "...Make it quick," he muttered. Aki grinned happily and sped up.

"Oh, you're gonna love it," he said, pushing the door open. "The food here's gr-"

_Crash!_

The words were cut off by a loud crashing sound from inside the restaurant. He'd opened the door just in time to see a man sent sailing through the air to the far wall by a girl at the bar's kick. The pair froze, sizing up the situation.

"Don't _ever_ touch my drink," the girl warned dangerously, rising from her seat. Her long red hair, tied in a low ponytail at the small of her back, made soft swishing sounds as she moved, and slate gray eyes were narrowed into a glare. She was dressed in a black tank top and short jean cutoffs of the same color, with a knee-length red sarong wrapped loosely around her slim waist. That, however, was the only color on her outfit, minus the multiple silver buckles running up her boots, which were black like the fingerless gloves on her hands. She couldn't have been a day over than twenty, which brought up the question of why she was drinking from the sake bottle resting on the bar beside a plate of steamed fish. Not that anyone seemed to care.

The focus of her anger, a large brunette in his late twenties, snarled at her from his position on the floor. He was surrounded by a group of men around his age, presumably his friends, but he payed them no attention. "Bitch, who the hell do you think you are?" he roared.

"None of your goddamn business!" she yelled right back, placing her hands on her hips stubbornly. "Just stay away from me and my drinks!"

"I just wanted to know what kind it was!"

"Then how about you _ask _instead of just grabbing it?"

"Come on, let's go," one of his friends urged. The man held the girl's glare for another moment, but in the end he was the one to turn away first. He spat on the ground at his feet before letting the others help him up.

"Yeah," he grumbled just loud enough for the angry redhead to hear. "I bet the food here sucks anyway."

"Hey bastard," the girl called in a low voice. He spun to glare at her, cheeks red, just as she picked up her plate of food and slammed it into his face. There was complete silence in the room, everyone watching the scene with avid interest. Aki's mouth was hanging open, while Skylar, standing beside him, whistled quietly in appreciation.

"Nice hit," he smirked as the man slid to the floor, probably unconscious.

"Never insult food in front of the person who made it," the redhead jabbed a finger at the shocked chef poking his head out of the kitchen. Then, she spun on her heel and walked back to the bar, completely ignoring the uncomfortable quiet that had fallen on the restaurant. "I'm sorry, I seem to have dropped my dish. Could I have another?" she asked the startled bartender politely. The man just nodded, darting into the kitchen at full speed so as to get away from the scary female before him.

Seeming not to notice, the girl returned to her seat, immediately taking a large gulp from the sake bottle that had been the cause for all this trouble. Movement from the left caught her attention, and she turned to find Skylar sitting beside her. They watched each other for a long moment until she apparently decided that he wasn't a threat of any kind. Her meal came only moments later, and the boy ordered his. Conversation began returning to the room. At some point or another, the fallen man had been taken out of the restaurant by his friends, and the general atmosphere was returning to normal...

...Until the redhead decided to skip out on her check.

Standing up after finishing her meal, she grabbed the bottle of sake and gave the bartender a small bow. "Thanks for the meal," she said with a smile before whirling and sprinting out the door. "Sorry!" the girl called over her shoulder. "I don't have any fish on me!"

The room was dead silent. The quiet was broken, finally, by a soft laugh. All eyes went to Skylar, who had been trying to cover up his laughter for some time now. "What a funny person," he said between snickers.

"I need to call the police-" the bartender started.

"It's fine," the boy interrupted. "She's with me. Here you go," he passed the other two large fish from the bag he'd been carrying, something Aki had caught just before they'd landed. The bartender gave him a dubious look, but took them anyways with a small bow.

"I see. Thank you," was the man's stiff response. Skylar waved over his shoulder, already halfway to the door. Aki was hot on his heels, also having finished his lunch.

"You're a really weird person, you know that?" the blond remarked thoughtfully once they'd exited. "Everything you do surprises me."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"...No, I don't think so," he concluded, then turned to the other with a large smile. "Would you say the same thing for me?"

"I might, but it wouldn't be a good thing," the teenager replied flatly. "Now let's go find that girl. She owes me a meal."

They searched through the town, but the mysterious redhead was nowhere to be found. Eventually, an hour later, Skylar called a temporary halt to the hunt. They ended up in front of the town notice board, and he took the opportunity to check the bounties currently up. They ranged from as low as 5,000 all the way up to one at 100,000,000 Beli. The picture for that one was very vague, only showing a blurry cloaked figure in the middle of a desert town. Judging from the name on the poster, Sake Drop Mana, he assumed it was a girl, though it really was hard to tell.

It wasn't the amount of money that caught his attention however; it was the figure herself. Though cloaked, the fabric swirled open around her legs, revealing black boots lined with silver buckles. Her head was covered by the hood, but the picture had been taken on a windy day, and a few strands of bright red hair were blowing free. His eyes narrowed in thought.

"What are you looking at?" Aki inquired curiously. Skylar just pointed to the poster of his interest.

"What'd that girl do to get a bounty like that, blow up a village full of orphans?" he asked.

"You mean you've never heard of Sake Drop Mana? Where have you been for the past four years?"

"Around," was the vague answer. "What's so bad about her?"

"Where do I even start?" the blond wondered. "Well, first off, she was involved in the slave trade. A bunch of Marines found her around one of the illegal houses, and she attacked them. There were no survivors. And then there's that one time when she practically destroyed that island in North Blue."

"Was it full of orphans?"

"I'm being serious!"

"Whatever, it's not like it matters to me," his captain lied. The gears in his head were turning, but he wasn't about to let Aki know about that just yet. "All that matters is that mine's not up there yet."

"You really think you have a bounty on your head?"

"It's very probable," Skylar answered tiredly. "You think it'd be too much to hope that my picture somehow got lost in the mail?"

"I'd say so."

"Damn."

"I think _I_ should be the one with a poster. After all, I'm the one who did all the work back there."

"Right," his companion nodded his head mechanically, somehow holding back the biting response on the tip of his tongue. "Why do you want one so badly?"

"Because that would be a great start!" Aki exclaimed. "To have a bounty already...I'd be famous in no time!"

"You just keep telling yourself that," the black haired boy said, quickly losing interest in the conversation. He scanned the busy square around them, but still couldn't locate the object of their search. His gaze strayed to the cliffs on the far side of town, towering walls of rock overlooking the ocean below, but he stopped suddenly when a speck of red and black caught his attention. "Hey, what's that?"

Aki turned to where he was pointing and gasped. "Oh no!" he cried, running off in that direction.

_What's that idiot up to now?_ Skylar grumbled internally, but followed all the same. The blond reached the cliffs first, sprinting up the path that led to the destination in a matter of moments. The girl was right before him, teetering just on the edge. He was so close...

"Don't jump!" he cried, tackling the girl around the waist. It knocked the wind out of her, and they fell to the side, away from the edge. It was only then that he noticed the wooden pole in her hand, and the thin string attached to it. "Um...saved your life?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted, somewhat regaining her breath. She kicked out harshly, but Aki rolled away just in time to avoid the hit.

Behind them, Skylar was beating his head against a nearby tree and chanting something that sounded a lot like, "Idiot, idiot, he's such an idiot."

"I swear, I thought you were about to jump off!" Aki put up his hands defensively. "I didn't know you were fishing! I mean, come on, who fishes in a place like this?"

"If you've got a problem with how I do things, feel free to say it," the girl dared. "I really need another reason why I should kill you right here."

"Alright, let's end things there, shall we?" their companion interrupted by stepping in between the two. "I don't really want to see any bloodshed today, if that's all good with you."

"Are you this guy's friend?"

"More like his babysitter."

"Oh. I'm sorry," she inclined her head slightly in apology for her mistake. "I feel for you."

"You're forgiven," Skylar replied, holding out hand. She stared at it in confusion. "My name's Skylar."

"Um, hi," the girl looked uncomfortable. She took a swig from the sake bottle hanging from her waist by a belt-like cord.

"Would I be correct in assuming that your name is Mana?"

The question hung in the air. The redhead and Aki were both looking at him in shock. He smiled back smugly.

"Y-you...how did you know?" Mana stuttered. Her throat felt dry, and she quickly reached for the bottle at her hip only to realize in horror that it was empty. "No, no, didn't I have more than this?" she asked herself frantically, uncorking and tipping it upside down over her hand. Nothing. She began to panic.

The two boys watched her strange reaction curiously. "What's wrong?" Skylar finally asked. "It's just sake."

"You don't understand," she murmured. "This can't be happening. Damn, not now..." the girl trailed off, eyes fixed on the ground on her feet. At length, she asked, "Well?"

"Well what?" he gave her a confused look.

"You're bounty hunters, right? Aren't you gonna try and arrest me?"

"Bounty hunters?" the young captain echoed. "You think...oh no, we're not!"

"Don't lie to me!" Mana cried. "You should all know: without sake, I lose my power! What good will being nice do?"

"I told you, we're not trying to trick you!"

"If I believed those words every time I heard them, I'd have been caught a long time ago," she answered bitterly. "There's a reason why I'm still here today."

"I swear, you're misunder-" he stopped suddenly when a sharp yell of surprise sounded from behind him. Whirling to face the commotion, he found Aki locked in a power struggle against a man he'd never seen before. He moved to help, but another startled cry, this time from Mana, had him turning right back around in seconds. The man had been a distraction!

A net had trapped the girl, and it was now pulling her back towards its destination over the cliffs. As she neared the edge, the redhead could make out a ship docked beneath, and several men pulling on the rope that connected them to the net. Beside them rested a machine that she immediately recognized as a net launcher, and a chill ran down her spine. _Shit, this is bad_, she thought.

"Grab my hand!" Skylar yelled, reaching out to her. If she acted now, she'd still be able to reach. But the girl hesitated, her own hand wavering just behind the net.

Was he trying to trick her? That look in his eyes...he certainly seemed sincere. But so had all those others, and they'd all turned out to be liars. It would be so nice to trust someone again, but was the risk too great? Emotions battled for control in her mind, and the struggle was reflected in her eyes.

And then, the choice was ripped away from her when she was brought over the edge. At the last second, she outstretched her hand, grasping for the hope that was Skylar. But it was too late. A jolt ran through her body, and her vision began to cloud at a dizzying rate.

Mana's strength was gone due to the lack of sake, the only thing that could keep up her energy levels after she'd eaten the Sake Sake no Mi. She was falling into the darkness of unconsciousness, and her last thought before it took her was: _I'm sorry I couldn't trust you Skylar. I hope you'll forgive me._

~X~

"Dammit!" Skylar cried as his hand closed on empty air. They'd been so close! He could have saved her. Maybe, if he hurried, he still could. "C'mon Aki, we've got to go."

"Alright," the blond replied, just having beaten his opponent. The man now lay unconscious at his feet, but he paid that no mind as he followed his captain down the cliffs and through town towards the docks. They reached the ship in record time, Aki actually getting their first due to his longer legs and stamina.

On his way to the boat, Skylar bumped into a man in his late forties, knocking him down. "Sorry!" he yelled over his shoulder, bowing his head in a hurried apology. He didn't catch the enraged cries from the citizens that were around at seeing their mayor being pushed down and just left there. But they didn't understand the situation.

"Go, go!" the boy yelled, jumping into the boat and hurriedly unfurling the sail as Aki cut the ropes tying them to the dock.

Skylar's steering was reckless, to say the least. It wasn't his strong point in the first place, and at this speed, they were probably incredibly lucky that they hadn't hit any of the other boats in the harbor. Not that any of that had registered with either of them at the time. Only the drive to catch up to the other vessel that was holding Mana was on their minds.

Somehow, they caught up to the other ship. Maybe the wind had been with them, or maybe the other ship hadn't set out immediately after grabbing the girl, but either way, they did it. Now came the hard part: the rescue.

"You distract them, I'll find Mana," Skylar ordered, to which Aki only nodded.

"Got it," the blond affirmed as he dropped the anchor over the side, effectively keeping the ship in place. "But how do we get up there?"

The other didn't answer. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, until suddenly, he stretched out a hand and a road of ice began climbing from their boat to the other. More of it went to the bottom of the larger ship, stopping it from moving further.

Skylar staggered once he finished, almost dropping to his knees in the boat but catching himself on the side before it could happen. "Go," he commanded. "I'll catch up."

Already, shouts of surprise could be heard from aboard the ship, and it was only a matter of seconds before someone would look over the side and spot them. Wordlessly, the blond nodded again, then turned and sprinted up the path, which was surprisingly easy to climb despite being made of ice. Must have been a Devil Fruit thing.

He jumped aboard just as the first head poked over the side, swords already drawn. He quickly knocked out the three men closest to him, and darted towards another with deadly speed.

Aki was a good distraction, for though he was fairly quiet when he fought, he was flashy due to his bright hair and dangerous because he could dispatch so many people so quickly, a combination that was always guaranteed to garner at least some attention from those around him. And that was how Skylar was able to slip by and down the stairs to the ships lower levels without being seen.

The boy made his way through the dark hallways silently, occasionally having to duck into a doorway or alcove to avoid being seen by men rushing to the deck to see what all the noise was about. He felt a pang of guilt about leaving Aki with so many enemies to face, but quickly squashed it. The idiot would be fine. What was important now was finding Mana.

The voices from the door at the end of the hall sounded promising, so he quietly sneaked over, stopping just next to the door and pressing his ear to it.

"You're telling me this girl is really Sake Drop Mana?" an incredulous voice asked from inside. It sounded familiar, but Skylar couldn't place why.

"I'd bet my life on it," another answered. "She matches the picture perfectly."

There was a rustling sound of paper, and then a snort. "Don't know how you can tell anything from this picture. You're sure that's even a girl in it?"

"Just trust me. Do that, and we'll be rich in no time. The nearest Marine base is three days away. We turn her in, and then we'll be able to live in peace for the rest of our lives."

"Serves the bitch right," the first said derisively, and the boy suddenly remembered where he recognized the voice from. It was the man that Mana had kicked in the bar earlier that day.

He had all the information he needed, so it was probably time to reveal his presence. The young captain took a deep breath, steeling himself. He'd have one shot at this, and couldn't mess it up.

"Hie Hie no Mi," he murmured as the ice began to gather in his hand. "Reaper's Judgment second form: Iced Hell."

Skylar placed his hand on the floor just under the wooden door, willing the power through him to the floor below. Feel for the heat source...there! In a tremendous burst, he focused all the ice on the two spots he'd picked out, hopefully where the two were standing.

They didn't even have time to scream.

He leaned back against the door, exhausted, waiting for any sounds from inside telling him that he'd failed. But all was silent, and he smiled triumphantly before pushing himself up, leaning on the wall the whole time. Why'd he have to get a power that sucked all the energy out of him with only the simplest things?

Cautiously, the boy stepped into the room, and was met with the sight of the man from the bar, along with another, an unfamiliar blond, completely encased in two blocks of ice. His handiwork, and he had to say, it did look well done.

In the corner lay a sleeping Mana, still trapped by the net. Skylar shook her, but the girl wouldn't stir no matter what he did. He was beginning to panic when her words from earlier echoed in his head.

_You should all know: without sake, I lose my power!_

With an irritated grunt, he picked her up and slung the unconscious redhead over his shoulder. _I am _not_ strong enough to do this right now,_ he thought as he headed back for the deck. _This had better work. _

Climbing the stairs proved to be a challenge, but he managed it somehow, and was soon pushing open the door to the deck. It was littered with knocked out or groaning men, and Aki was busy fighting the last five or so at the helm of the ship. Luckily enough for Skylar, one of the closest bounty hunters, for that was what they were, was clutching a bottle of sake to his chest, as if protecting it.

He took it away and uncorked the white bottle over her mouth, tipping it slightly so that a few drops fell into Mana's open mouth. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, her gray eyes flickered open, and she blinked sleepily a few times.

"Wha?" she murmured groggily. "Where am I?"

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sleeping Beauty," Skylar said dryly, setting the rice wine on the deck beside him. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment, confused, before comprehension began to dawn in her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" she cried, sitting up and grabbing the bottle out of reflex. The boy raised an eyebrow, but didn't mention the habit.

"Saving you," he replied calmly.

"Liar," she accused, eyes full of distrust. "I don't believe you."

"Then what can I do to make you believe me?" the boy asked, exasperated. "I'll do anything, goddammit! Just stop looking at me like you're expecting me to put a knife through your back!"

"Anything?" she repeated incredulously. "Fine. Throw yourself over the side of the boat."

"...That's what you want? Sure."

"Hah! I knew you wouldn't- Wait, what?"

"If that's what it'll take, then that's fine with me," Skylar shrugged, stepping up onto the rail that surrounded the boat. "You want me to do a flip too?" he added with a smirk before diving off.

Mana ran over to the side, staring down at the place where he'd entered the ocean in shock. "W-what?"

"What does that dumbass think he's doing?" Aki yelled, quickly dispatching the last of his opponents and running over. "Why didn't you try and stop him?"

"I-"

"Why would he do this? This isn't...no, I take that back, this is exactly the kind of thing he'd do," the blond muttered. "I'll never understand what goes on in that guy's head." He threw his swords on the deck before beginning to remove his shoes and socks.

"Why're you undressing?" Mana asked flatly.

"I have to go in and get him, obviously!"

"Does he not know how to swim or something?" the girl questioned, a heavy feeling building in her gut. Had she just done something really terrible?

"People who've eaten a Devil Fruit can't swim, right?" he placed a foot onto the rail. "Even I know that."

"He ate a Devil Fruit? But he never used it!"

"It really wears him out, and I get the feeling that he doesn't like it that much," Aki answered before jumping off himself, plunging into the water below with barely a splash. For a moment, she just watched the spot where they'd been, not even daring to breathe. The seconds ticked by, each one feeling like an eternity. She was about to give up hope when a loud splash sounded from below, and a blond head finally resurfaced with a smaller, darker form beside it.

"Hey, get us a ladder, will you?" Aki called from down below. Mana hurried to comply, and in no time at all, both boys were back on the deck. The twenty-year-old coughed up water freely over the side, but Skylar remained still, eyes shut tight.

"He's not waking up," the girl informed his first mate worriedly. Aki walked over, flipped the boy over, and began hitting him on the back. (A/N: I don't know if this actually works, so don't try it at home because I don't want to be sued!)

"Come on, wake up!"

The boy began coughing up water, slowly regaining consciousness. "D...didn't anyone ever teach you how to wake up a drowning person?" he asked hoarsely. "You could have killed me."

"Details, details," the blond brushed the remark off without a second thought. "Point is, I _didn't_ kill you."

"I'm going to kill you if you don't stop talkin-"

_Smack!_

Skylar was cut off by a sudden slap in the face by Mana. The girl looked furious, and her eyes shined slightly with unshed tears.

"What was that fo-"

"You knew you were going to drown!" she yelled. "Why'd you still do it?"

"I said anything, didn't I?"

Aki looked between the two of them, completely lost. "Um, what are you two talking about?" They ignored him.

"You could have refused!"

"But then you wouldn't have believed me."

"That's better than drowning!"

"I don't think so," the boy shrugged.

"What are you talking about?" Mana asked, bewildered. "It's obvious that your own life would be more important than someone else's problems. It's human nature."

"Well, we seem to disagree there," Skylar replied. "You looked really sad, and I don't like seeing other people like that. It annoys me, to be perfectly honest. Besides, I figured there was a pretty good chance that the idiot would see me go over and come rescue me, so my risk of dying really wasn't all that high."

She just stared at him in shock, not knowing how to reply to his messed up explanation. "Y-you're insane!" she finally cried. "Fucking insane! You almost killed yourself because...because you thought I looked _sad_?"

"Not thought," he corrected. "I knew you were. And really lonely too. Most people would want to help, wouldn't they? After all, being alone is really hard, isn't it?"

"I..." she trailed off, suddenly remembering those same words coming out from mouth of the person who'd found her all those years ago.

_Why did I take you in, you ask? Well, you looked so sad and lonely, just sitting there on the side of the road with nowhere to go. I was like that too at one point. Us lonely people have to stick together, don't we? After all, being alone is really hard._

"Hey, are you crying? Whatever I said, I'm sorry, alright?"

Mana was snapped back to reality by Skylar's panicked words, and just then noticed the tears making their way down her cheeks. She blushed, hurriedly brushing them away before taking a drink from her new bottle of sake. She didn't meet his eyes when she spoke. "Please forget you just saw that."

"Eh? Oh, sure," he nodded. A tense silence fell, punctuated only by the girl's occasional swigs from her drink and Aki's grumbling as he tied up the bounty hunters, something he'd decided on after he realized neither of them was planning on explaining what was going on.

The redhead sighed. "What is you want with me, anyways?"

"What do you mean?"

"You went through all this trouble, so obviously you must want something," she concluded. "If it's money, I'll warn you, I'm broke. And you can't have my sake either."

"Do you listen when I talk?" he asked irritably. "I've probably told you a thousand times, I don't want anything from you."

"That's bullshit," the redhead replied bluntly.

"For the last time, I was being serious," Skylar ground his teeth. "Do I have to jump off the boat again to convince you? I. Don't. Want. Anything. I just don't like seeing people in pain, that's all."

"Liar!" Aki cried from his position at the helm of the ship, knotting the ropes around the last of the men. "You're mean to me all the time! Wouldn't you call that pain?"

"That's different though," the boy insisted. "That's self-inflicted pain. You bring it on yourself by being, well, _you_."

"See?" the blond asked melodramatically. "He's so mean."

"If you two aren't bounty hunters, then what are you?" Mana asked, ignoring the other, who began having a mini-tantrum in the background. He kicked the ground a few times, muttering to himself the whole time. Skylar watched this for a moment, then shrugged.

"Hm, what are we?" he wondered aloud, tapping a finger against his chin. "You know, I honestly hadn't thought of that. I guess you'd call us pirates, if nothing else."

"You guess?" she repeated disbelievingly. "And pirates? You two? Where's the rest of your crew?"

"There is no one else."

"No one."

"Nope."

"No navigators?"

"Nope."

"Ship builders?"

"Uh-uh."

"Cooks?"

"When I say it's only the two of us, I mean it," he said flatly, tiring of her interrogation.

"...Well, you think you could suffer through adding another person to the mix?"

The question caught him so off guard that he had to reassure himself that it had actually been said. "Come again?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," Mana blushed, looking away. "I just think you won't survive very long without anyone else, and I've got nothing better to do."

"You...want to join..._us_?"

"What'd I say about repeating myself?" her blush deepened. "I'm a cook, so I figured it wouldn't hurt."

"Um," he was at a loss for what to say. "O-our boat can't hold more than two people-"

"So find a new one."

"And Aki's going to be annoying you day and night-"

"I can deal. Worst comes to worst, I'll find a muzzle of some sort." The boy didn't say anything else for a moment, and she took that as a positive response. "Besides, I was getting bored just drifting around, and it's not like my reputation can get any worse, you know?"

"I didn't say-"

"So what were you saying about needing a different ship? Sucks, that'll be annoying. Where do you even get a ship around this parts?" Mana seemed to have made up her mind, and Skylar just couldn't seem to get a word in to argue. But did he really want to?

She was a cook, and would provide some welcome company when compared to Aki. The idea was sounding better by the moment, but there _was_ that little problem about the boats. He didn't think it would be particularly smart going out in the middle of the ocean on a potentially unstable boat with two Devil Fruit users. So what to do?

He tried to think, but Aki's constant growling from behind, occasionally accented by a kick to the deck, was making it hard to concentrate. Couldn't that idiot see that Skylar needed quiet? No, he could only walking around, taking out his anger at being ignored on the bounty hunter's ship...

Wait! That was it! "Hey, Aki," he called. The blond finally calmed down enough to pay attention, turning to the other boy with a curious look. "I need you to help me with something," his captain said with a mischievous smile.

~X~

"And that's the last of them," Aki proclaimed happily as he deposited the final man onto their old boat. It was rocking dangerously, and certainly looked unsafe. Luckily for the bounty hunters, their ropes had been loosened before being taken off the ship, enough so that if they really tried, they'd be able to get out of their bonds to escape from, say, drowning.

"Excellent work. You must be very proud of yourself, manual labor force," Mana called over her shoulder disinterestedly as she inspected her new kitchen. The blond stuck his tongue out at her, despite knowing that she couldn't see him. He then turned to his captain, who was hanging of the rigging by only a hand and foot, enjoying the breeze with a small smile.

"Hey, Sky?"

"I thought I told you not to call me that. Anyways, what do you want?" the boy asked, annoyed at being disturbed.

"Um, didn't you say that your boat could only hold two people?" Aki questioned. "There were definitely more than two of them."

"..." Skylar smirked devilishly. "It's not that far to shore."

~X~

Meanwhile, back on Sea King Island, the newspaper had just arrived at the mayor's office. He leafed through the included bounty papers, searching for anything new. It was all the same faces, though a few had raised their bounties a little. One at the end made him pause for a moment. It was a picture of the boy who'd run into him earlier that day.

"Arctic Blade Skylar," the man read off slowly. "5,000,000 Beli."

* * *

**Mana was the brain-child of my friend/the editor for this story. She's too lazy to make an account, but she gets my thanks anyways! ^^ That little part at the end really serves no other purpose than to announce Skylar's bounty. What do you guys think of his bounty name?**

**I thought this chapter seemed a little rushed at parts. :p I hate it when that happens. But anyways, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! ^^**


	4. Chapter 3: What's In a Name?

Legacy

Chapter Three: What's In a Name?

"Dinner's ready!" Mana announced, setting the main course, steamed fish with mixed vegetables, on the wooden kitchen table. Her kitchen doubled as the ship's dining room due to their lack of an actual one, though she had found a folded up table and chairs in a closet to the side, which suggested that they could eat outside if they wanted. Still, she was too lazy to actually take them out and find out.

"I'm starved," Aki said as he entered from the deck, but he paused at the entrance. "It smells great in here!"

"I'd hope so," the girl said dryly, taking a seat. "I'm fairly proud of my cooking skills, thank you very much."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, with only the occasional clink of dishes and silverware to break it. Before long, however, Mana noticed that one of their small crew didn't appear to be there.

"Where is he?" she growled out in annoyance, levering herself out of her chair. Aki didn't even look up, already knowing who she was talking about.

"Probably in the map room," the blond pointed dismissively in that general direction with his fork, too preoccupied with his food to actually help.

"Right." With a sigh, the redhead opened the door to the adjoining hallways and made her way down it to the third door on the right. She knocked a few times, but when there was no reply, she quickly lost patience and kicked the door open. "Hey, you in here?"

Skylar was slumped over the room's single desk, a map of South Blue open on the surface beneath. He was snoring lightly, and Mana seriously considered not waking him up. He looked tired.

But it was too late. Already, the boy's eyes were starting to flutter open. He blinked a few times to bring them into focus. "Hm?" Skylar mumbled sleepily.

"Food's done," the redhead said tersely before turning and heading back to the kitchen. He followed a few moments later, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Both members of his crew were already seated and eating, so he just sat at the place set for him and began spooning rice onto his plate.

"I just realized that this will be our first meal together on this ship," Aki said randomly once everyone was settled.

"Don't go getting emotional or something, or I will hit you. And make you do the dishes," Mana threatened, and he quickly shut his mouth.

"I wasn't going to," he pouted.

"He's right though," Skylar nodded without looking up from his food. "Are we supposed to be celebrating that or praying that we'll get to see another meal?"

"Well that's a negative comment if I've ever heard one," the girl sweatdropped. "You're not a real pleasant person when you wake up are you?"

"No, it's just been a long day," he sighed apologetically. "My bad."

"And what's with you passing out over the maps in there?" she continued, not about to let the conversation end just yet.

"We need a navigator," Skylar admitted wearily. "I can't keep doing this. I try to read the maps and currents and stuff, but when it comes down to it, I'm really no good. My navigation skills are very basic. I'm surprised I got us this far, and I don't even know if we're going to reach where I'm trying to send us. It's really stressing me out."

There was a moment of silence after he finished as the other two digested what he'd said. Mana regarded him critically.

"How old are you?" she asked pensively.

"Seventeen. Why?"

"Well, close enough," the girl shrugged, picking up her drink. She walked over to one of the many cabinets lining the walls and took out three glasses, then returned to the table and poured sake into each. Shoving them across the table to where the boys sat, she took a seat with her own glass. "Drink," Mana commanded.

"I'm not old enough(1)," Skylar replied flatly. "Were you not listening just now?"

"Neither am I," she smirked. "Listen, if you're old enough to go sailing out to sea with a ragtag crew you put together out of nowhere, steer a ship with no navigating skills, and fight Marines and bounty hunters, then you're old enough to drink. So in light of that," Mana raised her glass in a toast. "Bottoms up."

Without further ado, she drained her glass, immediately going to the bottle for more. The boys were a little less enthusiastic, both staring at the liquid with apprehension. Finally, Skylar sighed and nodded at Aki.

"May as well, seeing as she was nice enough to pour it for us," he said wryly before taking a small sip.

"Damn straight," the girl winked. Aki shrugged and followed the other two's lead. "Just to let you know, I don't do this often, so don't either of you go getting too stressed ever again 'cause I won't help," Mana informed them bluntly.

"Yes ma'am," the blond gave her a mocking salute.

"Wouldn't want to waste your precious sake," Skylar added with a smirk.

"Exactly," she replied, ignoring the sarcasm in the words. "Unless you want me collapsing on you all the time."

"Why do you do that?" Aki asked. "I mean, I don't know a whole lot about drunkards, but I'm pretty sure they don't usually collapse from _lack_ of alcohol."

"Who the hell are you calling a drunkard?" Mana snapped back hotly. "And for your information, it's 'cause I ate one of the Devil Fruits. The Sake Sake no Mi, to be precise."

"Really?"

"Really."

"What does it do?" their captain asked. "Do you, like, have control over the sake around you or something? Because that seems like a kind of limited power."

"Oh please, I wish," she snorted. "No, when I drink during a battle, I get this massive power boost. On the flip-side, I use up energy in everyday life really quickly, so I have to keep drinking."

"I can't decide if that's useful or not," Skylar said thoughtfully.

"That makes two of us," the girl answered with a shrug. "But hey, it means I get to drink a lot and never get drunk."

"You don't get drunk?" Aki raised an eyebrow. "You're just usually like this? Huh, sucks for us."

"You are just _begging _me to kick your ass, aren't you?"

"As if you'd be able to beat me up," he replied smugly. "You wouldn't even get close."

"Wanna bet?" Mana dared, rising from her chair. "I just love gambling. Especially when I know I'm going to win."

"Why can't you two get along?" the youngest out of the three asked exasperatedly. "Is it really that hard?"

"Yes," was their immediate response.

"That's what I thought," he shook his head tiredly before picking up his plate and heading out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Aki called after him.

"Back to the map room where it's _quiet_," the other answered grumpily, already halfway down the hall.

There was silence after he left, punctuated by a sharp slam of the door a moment later. Mana and Aki looked at each other guiltily, then wordlessly raised their fists.

"Rock, paper, scissors(2)," they chanted softly. "Shoot!"

"Yes!"

"Damn!" the girl slammed her fist down on the table, having just lost to Aki's paper. The blond quickly walked off down the hall, on his way to the map room. He pushed the door open without knocking, making the boy inside jump slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd apologize," Aki shrugged, stepping in and examining the room. Maps covered three of the four walls, and a large bookshelf took up the last. The desk where Skylar was currently sitting was situated on the left side of the room, opposite the bookshelf.

"Don't," the younger male said. "I'm just tired. Sorry."

"Nah, it's not your fault," the other brushed it off without a second thought, walking over to toy with a small model ship resting on one of the shelves. "We were just arguing and didn't notice it was bothering you."

"O-oh."

"So...where are we headed?"

"Huh?"

"You said something about not knowing if we were going to get to the place you wanted," Aki recalled. "Where did you want to go?"

Skylar beckoned him over, spreading the previously rolled up map beside him to reveal a better look at South Blue. He pointed to a spot just under a thick mountain range running across the top of the page, a boundary known as the Red Line. It led to the Grand Line. But the boy was pointing to an island just below it, labeled Four Corners.

"I want to go here," he explained. "They're known for their map making and navigators. I figure that if we go there, maybe we'll be able to find a navigator."

"...That's an awfully long distance to travel without one though," the blond pointed out worriedly. "Wouldn't getting one sooner rather than later be better? There's got to be places closer that have a lot of navigators."

"No," Skylar said firmly. "It has to be here. They only train the best, and we need the best. Anything less and we'd die before even entering Grand Line."

"The Grand Line?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "That's where I need to go. But it'll be dangerous, so if you don't want to come, you don't-"

"That's great!" Aki exclaimed happily, thumping him on the back. "And here I was thinking you were going to make us stay in South Blue to be safe. Man, this is the best! Now I can safely say that I'm staying with this crew until the day I die, whenever that may be!"

"W-what?"

"Well obviously I can't make the world know my name if I only stay in one of the four Blues," the blond clarified. "No, to do that, I have to make a name for myself in the Grand Line. And if you aren't going to kick me off, then I'm not going to leave your crew. I like it here. It's nice."

"You could at least put a little more thought into it before just saying something like that!"

"Nope," Aki shook his head vehemently. "Thinking's not really my thing. Ask anyone, they'd agree."

"Oh trust me, I know," Skylar muttered under his breath before turning back to his first mate. "But still...how can you follow me so easily? You don't even know who I'm looking for. For all you know, I could be chasing the most dangerous criminal in the world for revenge!"

"Well then I'd help you," he declared with a grin. "But I don't think that's what you're after. You don't seem like that type of guy, you know? And besides, if you're looking for someone, aren't two pairs of eyes better than one?"

From her position leaning on the door, Mana smirked at the comment.

"Or should I say three pairs," Aki said, eyes narrowing as he turned towards the door. "Isn't that right Mana?"

Slowly, the door swung open to reveal the girl behind. An innocent smile was plastered across her face, but her gray eyes danced with amusement. "Guess I've been found out," she stuck out her tongue sheepishly.

"You know, eavesdropping's a crime," Skylar remarked, not the least bit fazed at seeing her.

"So's fighting a Marine Commander," she countered, pulling over a chair from one of the corners and taking a seat. "Now what's all this I hear about the Grand Line?"

"You're not even ashamed to have been caught, are you?" the boy accused.

"Nonsense," Mana replied. "I'm ashamed to have been _caught_. If it's the listening part you're talking about though, no, I can't really say I am."

"...I'm not nearly awake enough to deal with this right now," Skylar grumbled resignedly. "Yes, I was planning on heading for the Grand Line after recruiting another person or two. By your reaction, I'll assume you don't have a problem with that."

"Trust me, if I had a problem, you'd know it," she smirked. "But what's with this sudden change in attitude?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, I've kind of noticed it too,"Aki nodded. "Before, you were so against becoming a pirate. Now, you're talking about recruiting others to join the crew."

"I didn't think I'd have a crew," the boy said quietly. "I didn't want to deal with it. Well, there were other reasons, but...yeah. Anyways, to have people depending on me for their lives, I didn't think I'd ever be able to handle that. But then you two came, and before I knew it, we were already calling ourselves a pirate crew. So I guess I just kind of accepted it, and now I'm making plans for the future. There is no way in hell we'd ever be able to survive out there with just the three of us, and you know that as well as I do."

"Well this isn't going to work," Mana declared once he'd finished.

"What?" both boys asked in unison.

"We can't call ourselves a pirate crew and not have a name!" she exclaimed. "I mean, the world needs to be able to call us something other than 'that pirate crew over there.'"

"A name..." Skylar echoed thoughtfully.

"Oh, oh, we should be the Prince Aki Pirates!" Aki said excitedly.

"Rejected," Mana replied at once. "Too stupid. Why don't we name it after Skylar's bounty name?"

"I really have one?" the captain asked, depressed. "Damn. There goes my picture getting lost in the mail theory."

The girl triumphantly pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her short's pocket and showed it to him. Arctic Blade Skylar was printed across the top in big letters, and then a picture of him, ice scythe in hand and a dangerous look in his eyes. His bounty was 5,000,000, not a bad start for someone who had just started being a pirate _right then_. He groaned.

"So that'd be the Arctic Blade Pirates, right?" the blond asked.

"And the genius speaks," Mana said dryly. "Yes, that would be it."

"I don't want to do that," Skylar's words drew them away from the impending argument in surprise. He looked dejected from the recent news, but also stubborn. "Too many crews name themselves after something stupid like their captain's bounty name. I want to do something original."

"The Prince Aki Pi-"

"No," the girl cut Aki off before he could continue, a contemplative look on her face. "Original, huh? Well...how about the Frozen Sky Pirates?"

At their stunned faces, she grinned wickedly.

"Don't think I didn't see that ice in there when I was touring the ship, even if you did get rid of whatever you were trying to freeze," she said to Skylar. "Oh no, I know all about your little power, Mr. Hie Hie no Mi."

"Then where'd the Sky part come from?" Aki asked.

"First of all, in case you didn't realize, that's the first part of his name," Mana pointed out flatly. "Also, it's because Skylar actually means sky or cloud(3). Plus, it just sounds cool."

"You sound like you've put a lot of thought into this," her captain said dryly. "I like it. Frozen Sky, huh? Yeah, that just might work."

"I still think-" Aki started, but the redhead quickly interrupted.

"I swear, if you say the Prince Aki Pirates again, I will kill you. Slowly and painfully."

"What if I wasn't going to say that?" the blond snapped.

"Were you?"

"Shut up!"

A vein pulsed on Skylar's forehead.

"Look, it's a stupid name, alright? Who's going to cower in fear of that?"

"The world!" Aki proclaimed.

A second soon joined it.

"What the hell are you talking about!"

"You just don't understand it's brilliance!"

"That's 'cause it's not there!" Mana shot back irritably.

By this time, another three veins had joined the first, and the young captain had had enough.

"Out! Both of you!" he yelled, and the next thing they knew, the pair was thrown out of the room. They looked back just in time to see the door slam on them.

"...I think we made him made," Aki deduced.

"Oh really? You don't say."

~X~

The next day dawned beautiful and clear. Skylar walked out onto the deck, blinking spots out of his eyes at the sudden brightness. His hair was down, and it hung to about mid-thigh, as opposed to just above the waist like it did in a ponytail. He couldn't be bothered to tie it up this morning, so it just blew freely in the wind.

"Oh, you're up," Mana greeted him as she passed by on her way to the kitchen to start on breakfast. A large fish was dangling from one of her hands, and he raised an eyebrow. Following his gaze, she smiled. "Nothing better in the morning than some quiet fishing."

"Whatever you say," he shrugged tiredly.

"See, I was right," she stopped, frowning slightly.

"About what?"

"You're not a morning person."

"If we're just going by what I act like now as opposed to always, then I don't really think I'm an any-time-of-day person," the boy pointed out.

"Hm," she seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "You know, you might be onto something there," the redhead grinned cheekily before continuing on her way to the kitchen. "Breakfast in ten minutes," she called back as an afterthought.

Skylar grumbled something unintelligible, which only served to make her laugh as she entered. He wasted away the minutes until breakfast doing menial chores on the ship, and, satisfied with his work, he headed to the kitchen and the wonderful smells pouring from the open door.

"Morning," Aki said brightly as he walked in at the same time from the opposite door, a smile on his face.

"So what, is he a morning person?" the other boy muttered. Mana laughed again.

"No, he's just Aki. Not sure if that's better or worse, but there is a difference."

"Right," he sighed, taking a seat at the table.

"What are you guys talking about?" the blond asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Nothing," the two chorused.

"...Fine, don't tell me," he resorted to sulking, poking his glass of juice dejectedly with a spoon. Mana rolled her eyes, but did nothing to put a stop to it. She figured her cooking would do that for her.

Sure enough, at the sight of food, Aki perked back up, seeming to completely forget his depression from only seconds ago.

"Looks great!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," the girl said. "But maybe doing the dishes for me will."

"Pass," he answered immediately, reaching for the food. She swiped it out of his grasp with a glare.

"Well then, no food for you."

"What? No, you can't do that! I'm starving here!"

"Don't care."

"Just give him the damn food," Skylar growled. "It is far too early in the morning for this."

"Skylar..." Aki trailed off. "Your hair is longer!"

The room was dead silent. Both of the teenagers gave their crew's older member withering looks.

"...Yes, Aki, my hair just magically grew overnight," the boy sighed. "Disregard the fact that I usually wear it in a ponytail, and that could very well take off a few inches. Just ignore that."

Understanding slowly dawned on the blond's face. "Oh!" he exclaimed, finally getting it. Mana hit her forehead with the palm of her hand, making a sharp smacking sound. Skylar just sighed and began to pull his hair back into its usual style.

"Mana, look out that window would you?" he asked without turning around. Curious, the girl did as she was told.

"I don't-oh wait!" she cut herself off. "There! I can see land!"

"An island?" Aki wondered out loud.

"I-I think so," she stammered in response. He turned to her, a questioning look in his blue eyes at the odd choice of words.

"You think so?" the swordsman repeated incredulously. "What do you mean?"

"It's just..." Mana's eyes were wider, and getting larger by the second as her gaze traveled upwards. "It's gigantic! I can't even see the top or the far coasts!"

"The top?" Aki went to stand behind her at the window. "Oh wow." For once, he was speechless. "What is this place?"

"That my friends," their attention was momentarily diverted from the window by their captain's voice. He had not moved from his spot at the table, but was now looking at them with a small smile. "Is the biggest island, or should I say islands, in South Blue," Skylar continued. "Welcome to Red Rock Archipelago."

* * *

**(1)Where I live, the legal drinking age is 21. Don't know if it's different for any of you, but that's what I'm sticking with.**

**(2)Look it up on Wikipedia if you don't already know what it is.**

**(3)No joke, it does. I looked it up.**

**Kind of a shorter chapter, but they can't all be monsters. Does anyone have a musician or doctor they're not using? Cause I kind of need them. **

**Remember reviews = motivation to write! ^^ **


	5. Chapter 4: Tyrants and Directions

Legacy

Chapter Four: Tyrants and Directions

"That my friends is the biggest island, or should I say islands, in South Blue. Welcome to Red Rock Archipelago."

"Red Rock...Archipelago?" Aki repeated, stuck somewhere between surprise and confusion. "Why's it called that? I mean, the rocks on the cliffs all look pretty normal to me."

"Follow me and I'll show you," Skylar stood without waiting for a response and headed out onto deck. Curious, the pair followed.

The islands that made up Red Rock Archipelago were connected together by a series of high, swaying bridges. If viewed from up above, the entire area apparently resembled a crescent moon. None of the islands were very big across, but they more than made up for it with their towering cliffs that soared as high as three hundred yards in some places. It was on these dangerous faces that the native people built their homes.

Clinging to the cliffs with only one wall, the houses dotting the islands made a very unusual sight. Built sideways, the buildings were designed much like a normal house except for one quite noticeable difference: only one wall was actually attached to the surface behind, and it wasn't the floor. There were no beaches on these islands because of the strange currents surrounding them that didn't even allow small clumps of sand to form before they were whisked away by the ocean, and the tops of the islands tapered away to precipitous points at the top, so there was no other place to build other than the cliffs.

Some would have called the idea insane, but the natives didn't care. Their ancestors had lived like this, so they would too. And despite all that, despite the steep, narrow pathways that connected the houses and rickety bridges between buildings, Red Rock was surprisingly popular with tourists. Local shops made a fortune selling the strange sandals that clung to the cliffs, the shoes that so many tourists wanted in order to keep themselves from falling straight off the side of the island because of a small misstep.

The reason that the islands had acquired their strange name was indeed not for the color of the rocks that made up the sheer cliff faces, which was in fact perfectly normal. Due to the shape of the archipelago, a bay was formed in the very center, and that was where ships docked before their crews made the treacherous trip up the islands. Every ship that entered the bay was forced to maneuver around the thirteen foot rock in the very center of the water, a rock of the most stunning crimson color that sparkled when the light hit it just right.

No one, not even the locals, knew how this rock came to be there, as it was certainly nothing like what made up the archipelago or any of the nearby islands. Some believed that it simply fell from the sky one day, while others of a more scientific viewpoint say that it was a mixture of intense sunlight, the currents, and some sort of toxin or chemical that had made its way into the water thousands of years ago.

Most people believed the falling from the sky theory.

"Oh...I guess that's why," Mana said as she stepped out onto the deck, openly staring at the rock Skylar was pointing too.

"It's the same color as your hair," Aki observed.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Skylar agreed, glancing back and forth between the girl and the rock.

"Hn," was her eloquent response. "Whatever. Let's just dock and get on land."

The others agreed, and they immediately began work on the numerous tasks that needed to be done before they landed. It was tedious, but they were soon done and pulling into the docks. A steep pathway connected the docks to the nearest cluster of houses, and a shop at the bottom was packed, as usual, with people buying the sandals that would help them keep their balance on the way up.

"You think we'll need those?" Mana asked, pointing at it as they got off the ship.

"Probably wouldn't hurt," Skylar said, but his gaze was focused not on the shop, but the a large Marine Vessel moored a few boats down from theirs. A crowd had gathered at the gangway, all dressed in their finest. "What's that?"

"Don't know," his first mate answered. "Should we check it out?"

"Yes, and while we're at it, why don't Skylar and I glue our bounty posters to our foreheads?" the redhead pointed out bitingly.

A loud splash from behind drew their attention away, and the crew turned back to see the water settling again. Moments later, a head popped out of it, gasping for air.

"Hey, that guy..." Skylar's eyes narrowed. "He's wearing a Marine's uniform."

"Is he okay?" Aki asked, starting over. Mana grabbed his arm and shook her head almost imperceptibly.

"He'll be fine," she said in response to his stare. "Don't do anything to draw attention to us."

"But-"

"He'll be fine," the girl repeated, but she almost seemed as though she was also trying to convince herself of that. "See, some of his friends are already helping him."

Indeed, three other Marines had jumped into the water from their ship and were heading for their spluttering companion. They grabbed him and swam to back to the docks, tossing the drowning man onto the wood before pulling themselves up after him.

"What happened?" Skylar vaguely heard one of them ask. Shakily, the other pointed to the top of the island. The boy followed the path up to find something he'd missed before, though he wasn't sure how: a giant white building sat at the top of the island, which looked like it had been completely leveled in order to keep it there. The drop was immense, and he had to wonder how the man was still alive after a fall from there.

_What's that building though?_ he wondered, tuning back into the conversation to see if any other useful pieces of information popped up.

"Was it Mad Chef Guji?" another asked worriedly. He nodded.

"Damn, you know you should never insult his food!" the last exclaimed. "You have a death wish or something? You got lucky!"

"Come on, Skylar," Mana called, and he turned to find that she and Aki had moved away while he was listening. He hurried to catch up. "What's up?" she asked once he was close again. "You space out or something?"

"Yeah, I guess," he bit his lip, still deep in thought over what he'd just heard. "I want to find out what that building at the top is."

"Building at the top?" she echoed, looking up. "Wow. How'd I miss _that_?"

"I didn't see it either," Aki agreed.

"Guess we were too focused on the drowning person and bright red rock in the center of the harbor," their captain said wryly. "You know, stupid stuff."

"You think you're really smart, don't you?" Mana gave him a withering look, to which he only smiled innocently.

"Maybe."

By this time, they were already a good way up the path, having decided to just skip out on the sandals and go up on their own, screw the consequences. As Aki had so wisely said, "Gravity is for morons." The three reached the village above with no real trouble. It was obviously a shopping center, with signs over every door and people selling their merchandise under them.

"Can we stop here for, like, five minutes?" Mana asked, eyes glued to a shop selling cooking utensils and pans. "Please? I need to do some shopping because there's nothing to cook with other than a steamer and some knives on our ship. Also, I need sake." She illustrated this fact by shaking the bottle at her hip. Indeed, there did not sound like there was much left.

"And I need to fix my swords," Aki added, pointing to a dent that had been left there in their fight with the bounty hunters.

"Sure," the young captain agreed. "It'll give me a chance to ask around for information."

And with that, they split up to do their respective tasks. Skylar, after a moment's thought, walked over to the nearest bar. Yes, even in a place like this there were still bars aplenty.

It was pretty standard as far bars went, never mind that it was practically hovering a hundred feet in the air, with minimal lighting, several tables scattered throughout the establishment, a dark-wood bar with a young female bartender, and a comfortable atmosphere with an underlying feel of tension. Perfect for information gathering.

A girl with shoulder-length auburn hair sat at the bar, conversing quietly with the annoyed-looking bartender. As he drew closer, the boy could make out some sort of argument going.

"Look, you've been in here three times, and I've given you the same directions each time," the woman at the bar said, struggling to be polite.

"I know, and I'm sorry," the other apologized profusely, bowing her head. "I just...my sense of direction on land is so horrible!"

Whoever she was, the girl was certainly beautiful. She wore mini blue jean shorts, brown hiker boots, and a red and yellow checkered top that was tied at the center of her chest, which would have left much of her stomach bare if not for the white tank-top underneath. Her figure was very good, with a large chest and small waist. Still, she looked fit, and that together with the tan on her skin hinted she spent much of her time outdoors. Her eyes appeared at first glance to be dark brown, but from his position a few feet away, Skylar could just make out little flecks of gold, green, and blue in them, giving her a very exotic appearance.

"You need directions?" the boy cut in, deciding that it would be wise course of action judging by the look on the bartender's face.

"Good luck to you," the woman said sharply, turning away to help another customer. Skylar sweatdropped, but said nothing.

"Yes, I need to get back down to the docks," the auburn haired girl admitted. "I'm so sorry, but is there any way you could help me?"

"Sure, it's no problem," he replied with a smile. "I just have a question first."

"Eh?"

"No, it's just something I was interested in," Skylar assured her at the panicked look on her face. "I don't want anything. All I was going to ask was what that building at the top of the island was."

"Oh that?" a dark look passed over her otherwise kind face. "That's a restaurant."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay...but what's so bad about that?"

"Well-"

The door was slammed open, interrupting her. Four men walked in looking a lot more like pirates than Skylar ever thought he could or wanted to. One, the apparent leader, stepped forward with a wicked grin. The bar had gone completely quiet, and the bartender gave them a venomous look, her short black hair moving to partially obscure her eyes.

"What do you want?" her words were pure poison.

"Mr. Acosta has just raised the tax on sugar another beli, and the one on fruit two," he informed her. The woman's look became even colder and more furious, if that was even possible.

"He can't do that!" she cried. "We barely have enough money to pay now!"

"Well, that's not his problem," the man replied calmly. "If you can't pay now, I'd advise either closing down or finding another way of making money." He cackled. Her glare intensified, but finally, she looked down.

"I'll tell the owner," she bit out in defeat. "Now get the hell out of my bar."

"Yes ma'am," he laughed again, and this time his companions joined in as they left. The bartender punched the bar, teeth gritted in frustration.

"Bastards," she choked out. Behind him, Skylar caught the whispering of some of the other customers.

"Poor Marie," one murmured. "This is the fifth raise this month. If it keeps up like this, they'll have to close at the next one."

"And then both she and the old man will be out of work," their friend nodded sympathetically.

"They're not the only ones either," the third and final one added. "The market down the street closed last week, and the pub a few houses down is in the same situation as these guys here."

"Acosta is the owner of the restaurant," the girl beside him spoke up, drawing his attention back to her. "About a year ago, he began construction on that building at the top. It was finished last month, and he somehow managed to gain control of the island's food supply. Obviously, there's not much they can grow on their own here, so they rely almost entirely on trade. But he puts harsh taxes on everything, and if the people don't pay, they aren't given any food and they starve."

She finished her explanation with a faraway look, eyes narrowed in thought.

"I've only been here for a couple of weeks, but that's what I've learned so far," the girl finished sadly. "It's horrible, really. He's the worst kind of tyrant."

"Yeah," Skylar agreed quietly, still processing the information he'd just heard. Suddenly, he remembered why she was telling him this in the first place. "Oh right, the directions! Um, you take a right at the end of this street-"

"Hold on," she said, rummaging around in the bag slung over her shoulder. "I need to write this down, or I'll forget. By the way, I'm April Brokes."

"What? Oh, I'm Skylar," he replied, somewhat surprised at her sudden change of topic.

"Well, thank you Skylar," April smiled, triumphantly holding up a piece of paper and a pen. "Alright, ready!"

He quickly gave her the directions, and they said their farewells. With one last look at the bartender, the boy headed for the door and left. Where he had sat were a few folded bills, despite him not ordering anything.

Skylar spent the next few minutes searching for his friends. Eventually, he managed to find Aki just as the other finished having his sword repaired.

"It looks better than ever, doesn't it?" the blond said happily, holding the blade up to the light.

"Sure, whatever," his companion agreed distractedly, still deep in thought. A head of auburn hair caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and he looked up to find April talking with a nearby shop keeper. He stopped, and that was when she spotted him. Abandoning her conversation with the man, she walked over, looking distressed.

"Oh, it's you." The relief was clear in her voice. "I'm sorry, but I seem to be lost again. Could you help?"

"Didn't you write the directions down?"

"Well, yes, but I lost them at some point," she wouldn't meet his eyes, too embarrassed. "Like I said earlier, my sense of direction is horrible, and I can't follow what anyone else tells me. I always end up back in the same spot or somewhere I've never seen before."

"Wow," Aki whistled in appreciation. "That's some condition you got there. A friends of yours?"

"I guess you could say that," was his captain's informative answer. "Anyways, just follow this street until you get to the end. There's a path down to the docks from there. Seriously, you can't miss it."

"Oh, I can, trust me," she sighed, but smiled in gratitude anyways. "Thank you, and I'll try not to bother you again."

The girl walked away, just barely catching the first part of the two's conversation.

"So where to next?" Aki asked, bringing his hands up behind his head in a relaxed pose. "What kinds of supplies do we need, and how much?"

"We'll go to an island a ways away from here, restock again, and then move on to Four Corners," Skylar replied.

"Sounds like a plan," the blond grinned.

_Four Corners?_ April repeated in her head, whirling back to face them. "I'm sorry," she started. "But did you say something about Four Corners?"

"Yeah, we're heading in that direction," Aki responded, puzzled. "What about it?"

"Eh?" she suddenly realized how weird she must have sounded, and blushed. "Um, n-nothing. Never mind." The girl quickly turned right back around and hurried away.

"Well that was weird," the blond commented with a shrug. "Oh well."

"Hey guys," Mana walked over, two large shopping bags in her arms. "What's up? Find out anything interesting about that building?"

"Actually, yes, I found out just what I wanted to know," Skylar said, then quickly related the events at the bar to them. There was a pause after he finished.

"Well, that _is_ interesting," the redhead agreed quietly, then looked up with a smile. "Now I want to meet the person running a business like that. What do you say we stick around for a while longer and find out?"

"I don't mind," Aki said, turning to Skylar for his agreement.

"Sounds like a plan," the boy nodded with a smirk. "And you know the best way to gather information like that?" At their curious looks, his smirk widened, and he pointed up. "Head for the source."

~X~

"Why does it have to be at the _very top_ of this stupidly tall island?" Mana grumbled irritably when they finally reached the restaurant. "Would it kill them to build it a little lower?"

"It's a psychological thing," Skylar explained calmly, ignoring her death glare at his response to her rhetorical question. "If the people get the feeling that the owner is above them and always watching, they are less likely to rebel. Besides, it's easier to kill an armed rebellion from the high ground."

"Thank you for the explanation, professor," she spat. "You sound like you put a lot of thought into that."

"I try."

"Come on, let's calm down and be rational," Aki stepped in between them, hands raised peacefully. "Arguments within a crew are-"

"Shut up blondie," Mana snapped, cutting him off. His face went red.

"Who do you think you are, telling _me_ to shut up!" he exclaimed furiously.

"Someone who's a lot smarter than you," she shot back immediately before adding. "And more important."

"You-!"

"Alright, let's calm down and be rational," Skylar interrupted in a clear imitation of his taller friend. "Arguments within a crew are bad."

"Nobody asked you!" the blond yelled.

"We are so going to die before we even reach the Grand Line," Mana predicted with a sigh. "Our teamwork sucks."

"I think we can agree there," Aki admitted grudgingly.

"Your personalities just clash," their captain remarked. "On the other hand, I think you get along really well. You just won't admit it."

"We do not!" they argued in perfect unison.

"See?"

"You don't exactly help," the girl pointed out. "You're a very antagonistic kind of person."

"It's in my nature," Skylar shrugged. "Can't help it, especially not when the lines are basically spoon-fed to me."

"And you're our captain?" Aki questioned.

"You chose to come with me."

"Be that as it may," Mana started, but was interrupted by her stomach growling. She flushed red, a hand flying to it. "Shut up," she murmured as if it would do anything.

The boys broke into laughter, to which she only blushed deeper.

"Whatever, we'll finish this conversation later!" she declared, turning and heading for the restaurant. Still laughing slightly, the others followed.

The inside of the building was fancy, no doubt about that. A dark blue carpet covered the floor, and all the tables had stainless white tablecloths. Any silverware was cleaned until it sparkled, and the dishes all looked fancy and expensive. The food looked even more expensive, and Skylar could almost hear his wallet crying at how much a meal would no doubt cost.

A waiter moved over to them, taking in their appearance with obvious disdain. "Excuse me for asking sirs, ma'am," he acknowledged each with a slight nod of his head, though the contemptuous gleam in his eyes didn't leave. "But do you have enough money to pay for the food here?"

"I knew this would happen," Skylar sighed, reaching for his wallet. He showed its contents to the waiter, who, to his credit, let no signs of surprise cross his face.

"My apologies," he bowed. "Will it be just the three of you?"

"Yes," the boy answered.

"Right this way then." Picking up a few menus, the server led the way to a table by the window. Aki and Skylar followed, but Mana stayed where she was, searching the restaurant for something or other. A table in the back caught her attention, and she visibly brightened.

"Ah, that looks good," she said, already halfway to the another table. Sitting there with his back to the three was a short, stocky man. A tall chef's hat covered his head, and his feet dangled off the seat of the chair uselessly. It was impossible to tell his actual height from where they were standing, but it was obvious that he was not tall by any stretch of the imagination.

"Where do you think you're going?" Aki called after her irritably.

"To eat."

The man sitting at the large table didn't even notice as the girl approached, too engrossed in his own meal. It looked delicious yet simple. Grilled white fish sat atop a bed of leafy vegetables, a lemon slice on the side to add flavor. Beside it was a plate of fried dumplings with some sort of dark sauce drizzled over the top, and grilled kabobs, a mix of meat and vegetables, rested beside that. For dessert was a slice of chocolate cake, cut strawberries, and vanilla ice cream.

Mana walked up boldly, grabbed a dumpling, and promptly bit into it. Her eyes widened in surprise at the taste, but they were nothing in comparison to the shocked looks of everyone else in the restaurant, her crew mates included.

"This is really good!" she exclaimed with a happy smile, popping the last of it in her mouth and savoring the flavor. "Hey old guy, who made this?"

The room held its breath. What was the man going to do about this strange girl just walking over and taking his food?

"You really like it?" he asked at length as Mana picked up one of the kabobs and started eating that too.

"Yeah, it's awesome," she nodded vigorously. "Wish I could cook like this. Seriously, who made it? I want the recipe."

"Well young lady," he began without looking up. "The cook...is me!"

"Oh, so you're the cook here?" she asked, unfazed. "Great, that makes things a lot easier."

"No, no, this is not my restaurant," he shook his head.

"But this is your food?"

"Yes. Made it myself."

"So...let me get this straight," Mana raised an eyebrow. "This is not your restaurant, but you cooked your food here and are now eating it, instead of off the actual menu?"

"Correct," the man affirmed. "If my food is good, I will pay a large tip."

"That's kind of weird," she pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged in response. "But come, sit. Eat. Enjoy my cooking."

"What, really?"

"Of course," he smiled. "Those who know good food when they taste it deserve to be treated like kings. Or queens, in your case."

"Sweet!" the girl pulled up a chair. As an afterthought, she turned back to Skylar and Aki, who were still staring at her as if she had three heads. She smirked and stuck her tongue out, then sat down.

"Crazy bitch," Aki muttered to himself, fuming. "What does she think she's doing?"

"Eating well, I'd assume," Skylar replied indifferently as he looked over the menu, apparently done caring. "Let her do what she wants. It's not like she can't take care of herself."

"I'm not worried about her! That food looks good!"

"Nice," his captain said dryly. "If you want it so badly, why not go over there and ask?"

"No," was the blunt response. When he said nothing else, Skylar sighed.

"Whatever."

Meanwhile, Mana was enjoying herself immensely with both the food and the man's company. Apparently, he was a cook for the Marines, which she supposed should have bothered her but didn't really. It's not like he'd recognized her yet, and he probably wouldn't providing she didn't give her name.

Wait, he was talking. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch that," she apologized, breaking out of her thoughts. "Could you repeat it?"

"I just asked what your name was," he supplied, not the least bit bothered by her momentary lack of attention.

"Ana Silverman," the girl replied immediately, using the fake name she'd created ages ago and always used when asked her name. "And yours?"

"I am the Iron Chef, Guji-shi," he replied. "But that's too long to always say, so just call me Guji."

"Sounds good," she grinned, taking a drink of sake.

"Why do you always drink so much?" Guji asked, raising an eyebrow. "I would never have pegged you as that sort of person, not that I have anything against it. Some of the finest people I know, some even fellow chefs like yourself, drink quite a bit."

"Just a habit," Mana lied. "Picked it up from my mom."

"Ah, I see," he nodded sagely. "Anyways, so you wanted to know the recipe for my dumplings?"

"Yeah, they were awesome," she agreed. "What was in that sauce? Soy sauce, ginger, I want to say some sake, and..." the redhead trailed off, thinking it over.

"Vinegar and shallots," the other added in. "But good job on the others. Here, I'll write down the recipe and you can-"

A hush fell over the room all of a sudden, which the man picked up on immediately and stopped talking. The cause of this quiet was the man striding through the large double doors in the back. He was dressed formally in a two-piece black suit with a white shirt underneath and a blood red tie. His closely cut dark hair was peppered with gray, and black eyes surveyed the room coldly before coming to rest on Guji.

"What are the chances that's Acosta?" Aki whispered to Skylar as the man made his way over to where Guji and Mana were seated.

"Very high," his captain answered, a bit worried for his redheaded friend. _Please, please be polite for once in your life_, he prayed, hoping the thought would reach her.

"You must be Guji-shi," the man greeted the chef with a small bow. "You should have told me you were coming. I would have prepared a separate room for you," he said this with a pointed look at Mana. She bristled inwardly, but remained calm on the outside.

"I am," the other said stiffly. "And who might you be?"

"Oh, I apologize. I should have introduced myself first," he apologized. Skylar had heard more sincere words from pathological liars. "My name is David Acosta. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The same," Guji replied curtly, but Acosta had already turned his attention elsewhere. More specifically, towards Mana. His eyes bored holes into hers, and she had to resist the urge to look away.

His next words were as cold as ice. "And who might you be?"

* * *

**Okay, I was getting hungry just writing Guji's meal description. I'm not even sure if the foods would go well together, but that's what I want to eat right now. Both Guji-shi and April, by the way, were thought up by FanFicAA. Thanks! Acosta was my creation. Oh yeah, I can create bad guys if I have to. :) **

**Reviews make me write faster. Hint, hint, wink, wink.**


	6. Chapter 5: Playing Hero

Legacy

Chapter Five: Playing Hero

"And who might you be?"

There was a long pause after the question as Mana considered her answer. On the one hand, she could act like she always did and say 'Screw you, none of your business.' But there was something weird about this guy, and despite how her friends may have argued otherwise, the girl did have some intuition and survival skills. She just usually didn't use them. So polite or not?

...May as well take the political route.

"Why would it matter to you?" she asked, hardened gaze meeting his challengingly.

"I just wanted to know the name of the person who had gathered enough of a Marine Captain's attention to be invited to dine with him," Acosta answered smoothly, not backing down. Mana didn't even let a flicker of the surprise she felt at learning Guji's position in the Marine's show in her expression, her poker face perfectly intact.

_You're going to have to do better than that,_ she thought. Two could play at this game. "I'm honored that you believe _Guji_ holds me in such high regard," the girl replied, stressing the familiar name purposefully to annoy the other. "But really, it was pure coincidence, a simple meeting of two people who love food."

The air was heavy with underlying tension, and Skylar was on the verge of dragging Mana away from this suicidal conversation of hers when Guji intervened, apparently on the same train of thought.

"I am always on the lookout for promising young chefs to pass on my recipes to," the man explained, though whether he really meant it or just making it up on the spot was anyone's guess. "And excuse me for saying, but I fail to see how my position as a Captain should affect anyone here."

"I did not mean to offend you, and if I did, I sincerely apologize," Acosta bowed slightly. "Nothing was meant by that comment."

"It is not me who deserves any kind of apology," Guji shook his head, gesturing towards Mana. "I believe it is this young lady who has been insulted, if anyone."

"Oh no, it was nothing," the redhead assured them with a polite and clearly fake smile. "I'm sure that Mr. Acosta meant nothing by the comment. It was simply the wrong thing at the wrong time, and that can happen to the best of us. I took no offense, so no apology is required."

"Your generosity is amazing," the restaurant owner acknowledged. "I'm sorry for bothering you two. If you would excuse me, I'm afraid that I have a meeting in a few moments. Our conversation was most enjoyable, and certainly...interesting."

With another bow, he left, headed for a door on the opposite side of the room. As the double doors swung open for him, Skylar caught the smallest glimpse of one of the men he'd seen at the bar on the other side, waiting in an escort of several others to take Acosta wherever it was he was headed.

_Can you say suspicious?_ he wondered, thinking back to what April said about him controlling the island's food supply. The boy couldn't shake the feeling that whatever 'meeting' the man was going to had something to do with his monopoly on the food. However, his mind was only half on that, more of the thoughts swirling around the conversation he had just witnessed. _What the hell was that Mana? When, and more importantly _where_ did you learn how to steer a conversation like that? Who are you really?_

He wasn't well versed in the political language and etiquette that came with the cutthroat world of the nobles and elite, but he was pretty sure that a person didn't learn how to use those double-sided, seemingly polite but secretly biting words on instinct. Somewhere, somehow, Mana had learned the ways of the nobles of the world, and knew how to use them even if she never showed it. And that brought him back to the original question: who was she? They knew almost nothing about her, and certainly not about her past.

Once again, Guji appeared to be on the same wavelength as the young captain, as he was questioning the girl extensively on the subject.

"You handled that situation very well," the man began carefully, not wanting to seem like he was prying.

"You probably want to know where I learned to speak like that," Mana cut in bitterly without meeting his eyes, gaze fixed firmly on the floor. "It's personal. Let's just say that I've dealt with people like him before and leave it at that, alright?"

"...As you wish," he conceded, inclining his head to mask his disappointment. "Moving on to more pleasant matters, I still haven't given you the proper directions for those dumplings, now have I?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!"

The incident had not been forgotten, not by a long shot, but slowly the restaurant returned to some semblance of its former atmosphere. Tension and fear still ran high, but they were less prominent now, masked by the ordinary sounds of conversation and silverware. Truth be told, Aki found this kind of situation the worst. He was an honest person by nature, and liked to have things out in the open, for better or for worse. All this covering up and lying left him with a bad taste in his mouth that wouldn't go away no matter how much of his water he drank. Finally, after the waiter had refilled his glass for the fourth time, Skylar rested a hand on top of it to prevent the blond from taking another sip.

"Slow down," he murmured commandingly. "I know you're not comfortable here, but you need to calm yourself."

"It's stifling," Aki complained quietly, eyebrows furrowed. "The air feels almost hard to breathe. How can these people act like nothing's wrong? Don't they feel it too?"

"Who knows," the other shrugged. "Maybe to people like them, who live with this kind of atmosphere daily, it's perfectly normal. When allowed to think that things are alright is when people are most comfortable."

"But this _isn't_ normal," he protested. "Can't they feel that? It's horrible."

"To you and me, yes, it is. But not to them."

Aki considered this briefly before coming to a decision. "I don't want this to ever become normal for me."

"That makes two of us," Skylar agreed, releasing his hold on the glass. "However, you still can't drain your water every time a new glass is poured."

"Fine," the blond pretended to pout, but he dropped the act quickly and instead looked at Mana with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Well, that's us, but...something gives me the feeling that Mana wouldn't agree. She seems alright now."

"That, or she's a really good faker," his captain pointed out, but he was silently agreeing. "Still, you might be onto something there."

"We don't really know a lot about her, do we?"

"Hn," he replied tersely, ending the conversation before it went somewhere they didn't want it to. Aki quickly took the hint, but it turned out that the comment hadn't been necessary in the first place because of the events that transpired next.

Only moments later, Acosta walked in again through the doors he had previously left from, but this time he wasn't alone. Following him were three men in merchant's clothes. They were the kind of people cursed with a face that immediately told you not to trust them. Now for some honest people, this would have been horrible, but it appeared that these men's faces fitted their personalities perfectly if the shifty, nervous look in their eyes was anything to go by. Skylar wasn't usually one to judge by appearances, but something told him that if he gave _these people_ the benefit of the doubt, he'd soon find himself with a knife in his back and his wallet gone. So yeah, somehow he'd be able to live with himself for his unfair thinking, especially when they were all safely off the island.

Without sparing a glance to anyone else in the room, the four hurried upstairs on the stairs hidden in the far corner. By now, the boy thought he had a pretty good layout of the building, or at least the first floor. The room that Acosta had first entered from was most likely the kitchen, the stairs led to somewhere upstairs. Whatever doors they'd just come in from led either downstairs or to the basement, and then there were of course the main doors in the front. In case escape became necessary, the stairs or kitchens would probably be their best bet.

_This is what being a pirate does to you,_ Skylar thought bitterly. _The first thing you do when you walk into a building is look for possible ways to escape. Just perfect._

"Something wrong?" Aki raised an eyebrow at the others stormy expression.

"Not really, no," the boy replied, unintentionally letting some of the annoyance he was feeling spill over into his words. "Just thinking."

"Alright," he smiled, turning his attention back to the menu which they still had not ordered from. "I think I know what I want now, but does it feel like the waiter's taking a long time to you?"

"A little," Skylar nodded, looking around the restaurant. As he scanned it, the one thing that really caught his eye was one major detail: there didn't appear to be any waiters or waitresses _anywhere_ in the room. His eyes narrowed. "Where do you think they all went?"

"Who do you mean?" the blond questioned, not following his train of thought.

"I don't see any servers around here, do you?" he answered rhetorically. His legs were tensed against the floor, ready to spring to action should anything prove to be amiss. Aki, sensing his captain's unease, let his hand drift up to the hilt of one of his swords. Mana, noticing these small details out of the corner of her eye, tensed her grip on the arms of the chair until her knuckles were almost white. She didn't let it show on her face as she continued her conversation with Guji, but she had the same feeling as the others.

"Hey," she cut in once the older chef paused to take a breath. "Do you see any waiters around here? I need more water." The girl pointed to her empty water glass for proof, but Guji wasn't paying any attention.

"I can't say I do," he admitted after a quick search of the restaurant, getting up out of his chair. "I apologize, but we seem to have lost track of time. I need the check, so I'll go check in the kitchen."

"I don't think-" Mana started, raising a hand to stop him, but he paid her no heed, already halfway to the doors. All eyes in the room were on the man as he walked, and the silence was so thick that it could have been cut by a knife. It couldn't stay like this; sooner or later, something would happen, and then this quiet would be blown to pieces and replaced with who knows what.

Oh, it happened alright.

Literally.

"Get down!" Guji cried almost immediately after he opened the door, but it was too late. The canister that had rolled out upon his arrival began to shake violently, spewing out smoke that quickly filled the building. Seconds later, several small black balls followed. They looked suspiciously like-

_BOOM! _

The explosion seemed to rock the entire island. The bombs, though small, had been extremely powerful and extremely _loud. _Many of the restaurant's patrons were left dazed on the floor, having been blown from their seats by the force of the blast. It seemed like a miracle that nobody had been seriously injured, but upon closer inspection, it was because Guji, at the last moment, had grabbed them and thrown the deadly weapons out the window.

Figures could just be made out through the smoke, and they quickly made their presence known when a woman, having recovered from the shock and was running out, ran straight into one. Her cry was heard by all, snapping those still in shock out of it.

"They're back!" she yelled in horror. "The bandits!"

_Who-_ Skylar didn't even have a chance to finish the thought before someone crashed into him from behind. Spinning as he fell, the boy just managed to catch a glimpse of his assailant before hitting the ground. What he had seen wasn't all that informative.

A black hood covered their face, with a full-face white mask as added protection. The rest of their outfit, or what he'd seen of it, was an ordinary white shirt and jeans. He couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman!

By the time the teenager had picked himself up again, the person had disappeared. Apparently, so had Aki. He was alone in a room full of panicked people. Wonderful.

Mana wasn't faring much better where she was. Since Guji was preoccupied where he was, she was forced to move around by herself, hoping to find Skylar or even, heaven forbid, Aki. She too had a few run-ins with the masked bandits, and she deduced from their differing outfits that there were several, but luckily none of them paid her much attention. Hm, she was being ignored a lot today.

_Oh well, not like it matters,_ she shrugged inwardly, stepping out of the way to allow a frantic man by. _Now where _are_ those two?_

Meanwhile, Aki was nearing the doors in the back, something he'd spotted through the smoke. If they were opened, he figured two things would happen. One, they'd be able to escape, and two, so would the smoke. What he hadn't anticipated was the thickness of the crowd he had to wade through. Every time someone bumped into him or ran by without even acknowledging his presence, he had to forcibly stop himself from yelling after them.

_Stay cool_, he chanted to himself. _They're panicked, it's not their fault. Cool._

Finally, he found the doors, quickly searching for a handle. It took longer than expected, but he did eventually find it. Testing it to make sure it wasn't locked, he smiled. It wasn't.

"This way!" Aki shouted above the commotion, throwing open the doors leading to the stairs. His friends, after a moment of surprise, spotted him and rushed over, ducking through the crowd of screaming people and their attackers.

"Let's get out of here," Skylar advised, running through the doors without stopping. He pointed behind them to where one of the masked people was following, having spotted their escape. Mana nodded in agreement, following right behind him.

"But the other people," the blond protested.

"We're not here to play hero," Mana said sharply, pausing in her descent down the stairs. From near the kitchen, a yell could be heard, and another one of the bandits was sent flying through the air. Following right behind was Guji, looking absolutely furious. "That's his job," she finished, pointing to the man.

"Oh yeah, cause he really fits the description of hero to the letter," Aki quipped back, but pulled the doors shut behind him all the same, just in time to shut out their pursuer. At the end of the flight of steps was a door, and they made for that.

Outside, storm clouds were brewing, fitting the current mood perfectly. They found themselves on almost the edge of the cliff, with only a steep, treacherous looking set of stairs leading down to a small harbor below. Hidden almost perfectly by the curving sides of the islands, the small bay would have been nearly impossible to see from the outside if one wasn't looking. As it was, apparently a few people had been looking, judging by the three large ships docked there. Food was being unloaded off of them in crates while their captains, presumably the men who had been with Acosta earlier, were upstairs in the restaurant.

Skylar looked back and forth between the loud building and the harbor below, and came to an unhappy realization.

"Guys...I think we have to go down there," he said softly. Mana looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you _insane_!" she shouted, scarlet hair whipping around behind her back as it was tossed by the steadily growing winds. "They have guns, and canons, and dozens of people down there! We get spotted, we're done for! How are you expecting to climb down the _bare cliff face_ without being seen? That's suicide!"

Just then, a groaning person crashed through one of the windows, sliding to a stop a few yards away from their current position. A yell of rage could be heard from inside, and then another explosion went off. A plume of smoke began rising from the building, and growing flames could just be made through the nearest window. The captain turned to her with a look that clearly said, 'So you'd rather be in there?'

"...Harbor of certain death it is then," the redhead decided, moving towards the steps. Skylar rolled his eyes before following behind. Aki spared a glance for the motionless body lying near them, but another explosion from the restaurant soon sent him hurrying after his fellow crew members.

As it turned out, the cliff wasn't as bare as they had first thought. Trees clung to the rocks at seemingly impossible angles, yet still somehow managed to stay up. They provided welcome cover for the three, and the rocks that rose up along the sides of the path also contributed to staying hidden. Most importantly though was that the sun was just beginning to set on the other side of the island, plunging the cliffs into near darkness. The shadows covered their movements, and it was in this way that the small crew managed to make it down the stairs without being seen.

What greeted them, however, was an unpleasant reality that hadn't been thought of earlier: they were trapped. There were no paths or even shallow areas that continued around the island to the main docks, making it impossible to leave the harbor without a ship. And a ship was something that they did not have.

"So now what, genius?" Mana hissed, crouching at the very bottom of the stairs behind a large boulder. Skylar, mirroring her actions only a few feet behind, shrugged helplessly.

"I didn't actually plan this far ahead," he admitted.

"Of course you didn't," she huffed in return, abruptly turning away to survey the surrounding area. Aki, positioned just in front of her with a better view of it, bit his lip to keep himself from gasping, an action that did not go unnoticed by the redhead. "What's up?"

"I think..." the blond trailed off, pointing to a head of auburn moving around on the docks. "I think that's the girl from earlier!"

"What girl?" Mana asked in confusion. Her captain, on the other hand, knew immediately what the other was talking about. He swore under his breath, poking his head out dangerously far in order to see.

"Dammit, you're right," the boy affirmed. "But why's she here?"

"What are you two talking about?" She had to fight the urge to yell in frustration.

"You remember how I told you about that girl I met at the bar?" he asked. The redhead nodded in response, and he took that as a sign to continue. "Well, that's her. She's the one who first told me about Acosta, and then I gave her directions and she left."

"Must have been some pretty bad directions," Mana muttered, craning her neck to get a better view. "Still, that doesn't explain why she's here."

"April did say that she had a bad sense of direction on land," Skylar mused.

"I don't think anyone is_ that_ bad with directions," she scoffed. "How does blondie know her then?"

"I met her when Sky was giving her directions the second time."

"The second time?"

"I believe we've already discussed this, but if you ever call me that again you will find yourself deep underwater with an ice sword in your gut," the youngest gritted out at the same time. "Or do I need to remind you that I can make that happen?"

"..." Aki was silent.

"Wow, that's kind of dark, don't you think?" Mana grimaced. "Let's save the death threats for later, shall we? Besides, that's my job."

April had been all but forgotten about, not that she knew she was being watched. At the moment, the young lady was standing in the middle of the harbor, confused.

"Um," she walked up to the nearest man, who happened to be one of the biggest, scariest looking people there. Typical bad luck. "Where am I?"

He did a double take. "Wha- How did you get here!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," the brunette sighed, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she tried to mentally retrace her steps. "I was following this path up in the main village, then I got distracted and somehow ended up here."

She looked truly perplexed, but the initial shock had had time to wear off on the other, and he was looking at her suspiciously. "So you're telling me that you just somehow ended up at these docks that are impossible to get to unless you climb down those stairs?" Nod. "That's got to be the biggest load of bull I've ever heard! If you're going to come up with an excuse when you're caught sneaking around the docks, at least make it more believable!"

"But it's the-"

"Who sent you here?" he loomed over her menacingly. By this time, a crowd had started to gather around the two, cutting off all possible escape routes. "You know what the penalty for stealing food is, right?"

"I wasn't-"

"Public execution!" the man roared. April's mouth dropped open in shock.

"_What?_" she exclaimed, startling the surrounding people. Skylar, who had by now remembered her existence, was watching the scene with avid interest. "Execution? For trying to steal food? That's horrible!"

"So you admit to your crime?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"This might get ugly," the boy murmured, drawing the attention of his crew members away from trying to kill each other.

"Still think we're not allowed to be heroes?" Aki asked the redhead smugly. If looks could kill, he'd be dead from the scathing glare she sent him.

"We're not," she said stubbornly. "Helping her out would be a normal human act. There's a big difference between the two."

"Uh-huh," the blond humored her, unconvinced.

"Don't patronize me blondie!" the girl hissed.

"Hey morons," Skylar cut in firmly, pointing towards April. "She's probably gonna start needing help right about now."

It was true. The circle of sailors was closing in on her, swords drawn, guns raised, whatever weapons they had up and ready for use. Use on the currently weaponless April.

"Alright, I'll take the hundred on the right, Aki, you take the hundred on the left," Mana ordered. "Skylar, you go straight for April and get her out of here."

"What about all the rest?" Aki questioned as the girl reached into her boots and drew out a black cylinder the width of her hand from each. She flipped the tops off with her thumbs, revealing a silver button underneath, which she then proceeded to press. With a quiet hissing sound, the other sides opened up and a thin, two-foot-long chain tumbled out, a diamond shaped silver blade attached to the end. She smirked at them, obviously amused by their surprise.

"Well, whoever finishes first gets to take care of the rest," she decided, grin widening. "Whoever takes out the most wins."

"Sounds like a plan," the blond agreed.

"Whatever," Skylar resisted the urge to massage his temples. "Just don't get in my way."

And with those parting words, the three parted ways. Hopping over the rock and jumping into the middle of the crowd, Mana was the first out. With a flick of her wrists, the chains began to spin at high speeds, soon unable to discern through the whirring silver discs they had become. Several men found their weapons sliced in half before they even realized what had happened, and the sharp, accurate kicks to vital points kept them wondering right up until they fell, unconscious, to the ground. The girl decimated the crowd before her, moving through them in a flash of red and silver.

On the other side, Aki noticed all this out of the corner of his eye, taking in with growing anger the fact that all eyes were on her.

_Let's give them something to think about then_, he thought bitterly, raising his swords. He dealt a quick blow to the man in front of him, currently facing away so that it landed on his back. The sailor crumpled to the ground with a cry of pain, turning at the last moment to face his attacker.

"That's what you get for ignoring me," the blond said coolly, eyes hard. The wounded man shivered under the stare, but it was soon gone when Aki moved on to engage another person. Between him and Mana, the opponents numbers were decreasing drastically, but not enough to be truly significant. When one went down, another three came to take his place.

And where was Skylar during all of this? Towing April away from danger, ducking through the crowd in hopes of not having to fight. He didn't need any more Beli added to his bounty, thank you very much. As it was, his was fairly high for a newcomer in one of the Blues, and didn't want or need bounty hunters coming after him.

"Where are we going?" the girl asked him, struggling to keep up.

"Somewhere safer than this," was the unhelpful response. A roar from one side told him that somebody had noticed them, and the boy skidded to a stop just in time to escape being crushed by the club that swung down on the spot he would have been had he kept going. It was the man who April had first talked to, and he looked positively furious. "Great," Skylar muttered, raising his voice. "Out of the way, I'm in a hurry!"

"You're not going anywhere!" he roared, bringing the club down again. The boy gritted his teeth in annoyance and brought up a hand. Ice spiraled outwards from it, forming a fan-like shield to stop the others attack. Then, while he was still in shock, the ice pulled back to encase its summoners hand. Skylar punched him once, hard, in the face, and he was down.

"Famous last words," the young pirate informed the fallen man as his hand's armor dispersed into the air. "That was a lot easier than expected," he said, turning back to April. She wasn't there.

_How-!_ His thought process was cut off by a cry from up ahead. Sprinting forward and cursing the girl at the same time, he arrived at its source just in time to see the sailor who had caused it be cut down by Aki's sword. The blond had pushed April behind him at the last second, keeping her safe from harm.

"Don't just run off like that!" Skylar exclaimed, approaching the two at a more sedated pace. Behind him, Mana dispatched several opponents and jumped over the undignified heap they had made, landing beside her friends.

"What'd I miss?" she asked conversationally.

"My heart attack," her captain muttered. The cook laughed, deftly slicing through an approaching sailors gun. When she continued to approach, unable to stop, the redhead sighed and ducked down, catching the others arm and flipping her over her shoulder. The woman landed a few feet away, dazed, while the winner of the small battle blew a stray piece of hair out her eyes. It was then that she noticed where they were.

"We seem to be kind of trapped," she observed. They were standing at the edge of the docks, trapped between a mob of angry sailors and the water. Only a small wooden boat floated beside them, probably more of a scouting vessel than anything else. After a moment's thought, Mana shrugged and promptly shoved her captain into the boat. The boy fell forward with a startled cry. Aki, picking up on his friend's plan, quickly pushed April after him and cut the ropes attaching the vessel to the docks.

"What are you doing?" Skylar cried, rising into a crouch, about to launch back onto the deck. "You can't do this!"

"Tell it to someone who cares," Mana said, shoving the boat off the dock with her foot. As it drifted away, she called out, "We'll catch up later! Protect her with your life or I will consider yours to be forfeit! To _me_!"

Skylar stopped moving around so much, she noted with satisfaction, and was now glaring daggers at her. Not that it mattered, as long as the two of them were safe. Turning to the young man at her back, she stuck out her tongue.

"40 so far," she taunted.

"How nice," he smiled in return. "I've got 41. Guess that puts me in the lead."

The girl smirked. "Not for long."

* * *

**Sorry for the late update! I swear, this was 98% done four days ago, but I couldn't update cause my computer chose this week to break down. That together with finals is just one bad thing after another that contributed to this chapter's lateness. :p Anyways, I love all your reviews! They make me so happy! Please continue to review, and this time I'll try to actually update within a reasonable time frame. *hangs head in shame* **


	7. Chapter 6: Seeing Scarlet

Legacy

Chapter 6: Seeing Scarlet

"Are they really going to be alright?" April asked, glancing back at the rapidly disappearing shoreline. "There were so many people there..."

"Don't worry about it," Skylar dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. He was currently trying to steer the boat through the unpredictable tides that surrounded the island, but it wasn't working out so well. Basically meaning, they were lost and he didn't know how to get them back to shore. He pulled on a stray rope experimentally only to be thrown to the ground at their ship's sharp left turn. April grabbed hold of the side opposite of where he'd fallen to keep it from tipping. "Damn boat," her companion muttered under his breath, struggling to regain his footing.

"Um...d-do you want me to steer?" the girl asked carefully.

"Are you sure that's such a great id-" he cut himself off with a cry when the boat bucked in the opposite direction, almost sending him to the floor again. "Know what, go for it," the other motioned for her to take over in irritation. "I'm sure you can't possibly do any worse than me."

"Hopefully not," she agreed with a small smile, taking the rudder in hand. Skylar just leaned back against the side, eyes closed in defeat, praying they wouldn't tip before they were at least in sight of land again. It came as a great surprise to him when, ten minutes later, the boat hadn't so much as made any quick turns.

He cracked open an eyelid hesitantly, unsure of what he would see, to find April smiling happily. The boy raised an eyebrow when she pointed behind him, but he complied anyways, turning to face whatever it was she wanted him to see curiously. His mouth dropped open slightly.

"L-land?" he stammered, surprised. "We actually made it?"

"You don't have to sound so shocked," the girl pretended to sulk, then as an afterthought added in, "Though I guess I can't really blame you, can I?"

"How did you...?"

"I'm always getting lost on land," she said with a smile. "But I know exactly where I am on the water. My mom trained me!"

There was a slight jolt as they bumped into land, and that was what helped Skylar regain his senses. He jumped out onto the ground before them, deftly securing the rope he'd brought to a stone jutting out of the side of the small land bridge.

They seemed to have landed on a natural land bridge between two islands. Far, far above one of the archipelago's many bridges swayed and rocked in the wind, leaving one to wonder at its stability.

"We should hurry and get off this," April's words held an urgent note. "The next high tide will come in a few minutes, and this entire area will be covered in water."

"How do you know that?"

"Look at the waves." Skylar did as he was told, but couldn't for the life of him see how they were any different than usual.

"What about it?"

"Never mind," she shook her head. "I'll explain later. Anyways, I was up there yesterday," the girl pointed at the bridge above. "One minute this was here, the next it was completely covered in water."

"But the boat-"

"Leave it. There's a way up the island over here." She ran over to the right, and with her help the boy was just able to make out a cave in the rock.

"Let me guess," he said dryly once they were both safely in the cave. True to her word, there was an incline set in the rock that, while not easily, they were able to climb up. Water roared in to the bottom only minutes later, drowning the lowest level, but by this time they were far enough up to avoid it. "You found this in one of your little adventures too."

She looked away. "Maybe."

"Well, lead the way."

April turned to him with a warning look. "You're sure? We're back on land and I might get us lost again..."

Skylar only shrugged nonchalantly in response. "Bad sense of direction or no, you have more idea of where you're going than me." He shot her an encouraging smile. "We'll be fine. I trust you."

A light blush made its way onto her face at the praise, and the girl was for once grateful for the pitch darkness in the cave. "O-okay then," she stammered out, continuing on. They wound through the maze of corridors, sometimes able to stand, others being forced to crawl or climb to get around. For the greater part of the journey, they were indeed making their way up, but at some point the young captain couldn't help but notice how they seemed to be going downhill.

He was about to ask about it when April suddenly stopped in her tracks. Of course, he didn't have a chance to realize this until he'd already run into her back.

"What's wr-" the teen started, but his companion quickly cut him off.

"I think we're lost," she informed him miserably, hanging her head. Why couldn't she have been born with an inborn sense of direction on land like her grandmother? It would be infinitely more useful in life, and really, being the best navigator in the world on water only went so far. Skylar had really trusted her, given her an actual chance, and she'd messed it up so horribly. Why was she so useless? "I don't ever remember seeing this place," the brunette continued in barely over a whisper, not even daring to look up and see the disappointment she knew would be in eyes.

"Are you okay? You look like you're going to cry. Did I do something wrong?"

His frantic questioning broke the girl out of her thoughts in shock, barely comprehending anything he'd just said save for the last inquiry. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just...I got us lost. Aren't you mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Skylar was genuinely puzzled. "I mean, yeah I'm kind of annoyed we haven't been able to find our way out yet, but that's not your fault. It happens to everybody. I can't even tell north from south on land, and it's damn confusing in here! So what if we got a little off track? We'll find our way out eventually. Besides, look at this place you found!"

Lifting her head slightly, April hesitantly took her first real look at the cavern they were standing in the entrance to. A quiet gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Brilliant crystals jutted out of seemingly every available surface in the large rounded cave, some clinging together in clumps while others stood alone. They came in all different colors, from oranges and greens to blues and purples, and seemed to glow with an inner light generated from the slightly darker core. And yet, the most abundant crystals by far were those of a sparkling, bright scarlet color. The crimson hue looked strangely familiar to the black-haired teen, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought.

_It's the same color as your hair._

Those were the words that Aki had said to Mana earlier that very day, comparing it to the rock in the center of the archipelago's main harbor. Indeed, Skylar could see both shades in the ruby crystals that hung from the walls.

"Red Rock Archipelago, hm?" he murmured more to himself than anyone else. "I wonder if that rock's really all this place is named after."

"I can't believe we actually found a place like this." His female companion sounded a bit dazzled, completely not hearing what he'd just said.

"See?" the boy smiled. He took her confused expression as a signal to elaborate. "Don't think of it as being lost. It's just finding something you didn't know you were looking for."

There was a pause as April digested this theory. "I-I've never thought about it like that," she admitted at last, nodding. "That is an interesting take on it though."

"Yeah, a guy I used to hang out with gave me the idea," Skylar shrugged. "He got lost a lot too. I've never seen someone with such an inability to follow directions."

"Not even me?"

"Nope," he shook his head, then gave her a small grin. "He was definitely one of a kind, that I can tell you."

"He certainly sounds that way," the girl agreed with a giggle.

"Yep, quite the piece of work," the other concluded, feigning seriousness. The facade didn't stay in place long however, as the hole in the wall to his left quickly caught his attention. "I wonder where this goes." He beckoned her over with a wave.

"Do you want to explore around a little then?" she asked, forcing back a laugh at his pleading gaze, which immediately changed to one of excitement at the question.

"Yes!" the boy was already halfway through before even voicing an answer. The tunnel was small and cramped, forcing both to crawl for the majority of the trip. Skylar wasn't stupid, and he knew not to just go exploring random tunnels if there was a distinct possibility they would come to a dead-end, trapping them. But for this particular one, there was a faint glow at the end of the thankfully short path, showing that there was at least _something _there. "Finally!" he exclaimed, the space widening enough at the end that he could simply walk out. "Well, that was fun."

"If you say so," April said dubiously, stepping out herself. Her eyes widened, mouth falling open in shock, at her first glance at the cave around them.

More of the crystals dotted the stone walls like the last room, but this time it was exclusively red ones. The cavern was bathed in the viridian light radiating off the gems, further illuminating and accentuating the large pool of water in the center. The two slowly made their way over, surveying the area around for anything else new, but it seemed to be strangely empty except for the pool.

The waters were clear and translucent, giving the pair a view of the sand and pebbles that made up a small sandbar just under the surface near shore. As one's gaze wandered farther away, however, the sandbar was seen to abruptly drop off into a darkness that appeared endless. No bottom or continuation of the underwater tunnel could be discerned, and despite his better judgement Skylar found himself taking a few cautious, hesitant steps forward to get a better look.

"What are you doing?" April asked, watching his movements with alarm. "It might be dangerous over there."

"I'm just trying to see how deep it is," the captain replied absently, wading into the shallowest part of the pool. The water here lapped playfully at his shins, drenching his shoes and pant bottoms, but he wasn't nearly lucid enough to realize that. The second his foot had first touched the water, a soft, beautiful song had reached his ears. In some small corner of his brain, he knew that he shouldn't be doing this, should turn back and regain control of his mind. But the haunting melody was drawing him towards the blackness where it seemed to be coming from, ridding him of all thoughts except one: find the source. Surely something so calming and pretty couldn't be harmful. He didn't even acknowledge the maroon tentacle slithering along the bottom towards him, even when it began to loop around his ankle.

By this time, he was already waist deep in the water, and swiftly approaching the drop-off point. The brunette had only watched silently for the first few steps, but she couldn't shake feeling that something was wrong. Feeling a bit overprotective, she called Skylar's name.

He did not respond. She tried again, sounding a bit more worried than before.

Nothing but echoes.

_Something's wrong here!_ her mind screamed, urging her forward after the other teenager. She stopped just in front of the pool's edge, wary of the water and wondering if there was a way to get his attention without stepping in. It was then that she noticed the sinister-looking tentacle moving towards him from the very direction he was headed in, and all rational thought left her.

April splashed into the water, ignoring the foreign nagging presence on her mind. Her gaze was completely focused on the dazed boy and the danger edging closer by the moment. It circled his ankle a few times loosely before pulling closed, trapping the appendage. Not that he was aware of any of this.

"Skylar!" she exclaimed, grabbing hold of his arm. The contact seemed to snap the other out of whatever trance he'd been in, as he turned to look at her with a lost expression on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to ask what was happening, but before he even got the chance there was a sharp tug on his leg and he tumbled into the water below. The boy reached out a hand to grab the bottom, but soon found that he was already out in the open water.

The pull had been so sudden and harsh that his arm had been completely ripped from April's grip. She wasted no time in diving in after him. Some may have stopped there, wondering why they were rushing into probably certain death for an almost stranger. But she wasn't that kind of person, and the thought didn't even cross her mind as she blindly jumped into the dark waters. Whatever had grabbed ahold of the other was fast, and it was all she could do just to stay in sight.

Meanwhile, Skylar was having his own dilemma. He'd tried calling up an ice blade to cut himself free from his captor, but couldn't. In addition, the boy was feeling strangely heavy, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

_Shit, this is salt water!_ he thought, kicking desperately instead. But they were half hearted at best thanks to the devastating effects salt water could have on those who had eaten a Devil Fruit. Already, he could feel the water pushing at his lungs as if trying to force the oxygen out. _Is this how I'm going to die?_ he wondered offhandedly just as a pair of warm hands clasped around his arm.

The teen forced his eyes open to meet the multi-colored orbs hovering above. April had finally caught up due to a slowing in the others speed, but no matter how hard she pulled he wouldn't come free. She tried not to let it show, but the lack of air was also taking its toll on the girl. She didn't know how much longer she could last, and from the looks of him, Skylar was in no better shape. In fact, he looked worse.

Much worse.

Like he was going to pass out any second.

As both struggled to hang onto consciousness, they didn't even notice that their descent had stopped, or the dark shapes floating in the surrounding water, observing them.

Finally seeing that it wasn't going to work, April let go of her friend's hand and went straight to the source of the problem: the tentacle itself. She tried pulling at it, but the iron grip refused to yield. It was times like this that she really wished she carried a knife on her person. A knife! That was it! Maybe Skylar had one.

Her lungs were burning as she kicked up to him, hoping to use gestures to ask, only to find with horror that he had lost the battle and was out cold. Desperation took hold, but it was no use. Even if she turned back now, the girl didn't think she had enough air to make it. And besides, there was no way she could just leave him here.

The last thing her exhausted eyes registered was the dark form hovering over hers before drifting off into unconsciousness.

~X~

"148, 149, 150!" Mana chanted triumphantly, accompanying each number with a felled opponent. They weren't dead...probably. Well, she didn't think so, but it wasn't like she had time to check in the middle of the battle on _every single person_ she beat. If they died, it was their fault for getting in her way. Some would call that view cruel. She regarded it as self-preservation. Turning to face her blond comrade, who appeared to have also finished his last opponent, the redhead treated him to a wide smirk. "Beat that blondie."

"You can't have 150!" Aki protested. "That was my number!"

"What? Okay, there's no way in hell there were exactly 300 sailors!" she yelled angrily. "That's just stupid, not to mention highly unlikely."

"Well, apparently it's more likely than you think."

"You want to be my 151st?" the girl dared, chains clinking menacingly. "Then we're all happy."

"Who's we?" he exclaimed. "_I_ obviously wouldn't be happy!"

"Since when has your opinion mattered?"

"Take that back."

"Make. Me." Mana enunciated each word specifically, leaning forward a bit for the full challenging effect. The confidant smirk was back, and it annoyed the swordsman to no end. Who the hell did she think she was anyways? He raised one of his sword.

"With pleasure."

He charged, a barely visible flash of gold. But the girl was ready, dropping one of her weapons and looping the chain of the other around the now free hand. She caught the sword swinging down on the taut chain, wincing slightly as the metal links dug into her skin. Bringing up one of her legs to head-height, she brought it down viciously, the heel aimed for his collarbone. Aki saw it coming, jumping back a few feet to avoid the blow. The air was thick with the tension that had finally come to a head between the two fighters.

Retrieving her fallen weapon, Mana didn't even give the other time to realize what she was doing before sprinting forward. The chains were swinging again, the diamond-shaped blades at the end catching the little light that was being reflected off the water from the setting sun. The sky was painted in reds, golds, pinks, and indigos, but neither took any notice of this, too focused on the other. The blond crossed his swords, ready to receive whatever damage she was about to deal out, and the girl couldn't help it: she smirked. She liked peace as much as the next person, but it was only fighting that truly made her feel alive. That and cooking.

Aki was of a similar mindset, a crazy grin on his face. The thrill that came with a good match, the adrenaline rush, that on the edge feeling - _this_ was what fighting was about. Why were they angry at each other again? The two locked eyes, and in that one second, they knew they were on the same wavelength. Screw winning and losing, this was purely for enjoyment. May the best fighter win.

No more holding back.

There was barely a meter between them when a cry from above suddenly drew their attention away. Mana, unable to stop, did a quick spin and just barely avoided colliding with her blond friend. She skidded to a stop a little ways away so that they were now standing back-to-back.

"What was that?" she asked. Aki just shrugged.

"I think it came from the stairs," was the unsure reply. Sure enough, a person was waving at them frantically from the path.

"Hey!" they called. From this distance, it was difficult to tell if it was a man or woman, and the mask the person was wearing sure wasn't helping.

"They're wearing a mask," Mana murmured. "Do you think...?"

"Maybe," he nodded. There was a distinct possibility that the newcomer, whoever they were, was a part of the group who had attacked the restaurant.

"Did you two do all this?" the masked person continued loudly, obviously referring to the unconscious bodies strewn all over the port. Not quite sure what else to do, the pair nodded. The newcomer raced down the stairs two at a time, finally coming to a stop before them, breathing hard.

"M...My name's...Jeremy," he, for now that he was close, it was fairly obvious from his voice what his gender was, informed them. The man held out a gloved hand. "Nice to meet you."

Aki blinked in surprise. The redheaded cook elbowed him in the arm, which he took as a sign to accept the handshake. "Nice to meet you too," he replied. "I'm Aki and this is Mana."

"Are you two enemies of Acosta as well?" The immediate question took them by surprise, but Mana recovered quickly enough.

"I guess you could say that," she smiled knowingly. "More of just a...conflict in interest, if you will."

"I see," Jeremy nodded sagely. "Well, those who disagree with him are welcomed with open arms."

"What do you-" Before she could finish, the other raised a hand and made some sort of strange signal. The tops of the cliffs, so empty only moments ago, began to swarm with life as the dozens of hidden men and women made their presence known. All were wearing the same plain white mask as Jeremy to hide their identity. The girl turned back to him with a shocked expression. "How long have they been there?"

"We arrived only a few moments ago, after we'd created a sufficient distraction with the restaurant."

"O-okay," she replied, raising an eyebrow. That was unexpected.

"Who are you guys?" Aki cut in only to be silenced by Jeremy, who put a single finger to where his lips most likely were.

"Later," he said apologetically. "It's not safe here. Come back with us and I'll answer your questions."

"Come back with you?" Mana asked, not following when he started to walk back towards the stairway. "Where?"

He turned back and regarded them with ice-blue eyes just visible through the eye holes in his mask. "Our hideout of course."

* * *

**Okay, so apparently when I said a reasonable time frame, I meant a week and a half later. I got...how would you say it...lost on the road of life. Seriously though, I didn't have a whole lot of time to write considering that my computer broke and I'm now forced to share my sister's. And she uses her computer a lot. :p But moving on, thank you to everyone for being so patient! I love the reviews you guys give! ^^**

**On a completely random note though, red is my new favorite color to write simply because there's so many ways to say it! I mean, I used it a lot in this chapter, as you probably noticed, and it'd be boring to always just be "the red crystal, her red hair, the red stone, etc." I already knew a few, and when I used the thesaurus on the computer (yes, I actually use a thesaurus at times) there were so many options. :) Sorry, little things like that just make me happy and I felt like sharing. But I'm done now.**


	8. Chapter 7: Flower of Ice

Legacy

Chapter 7: Flower of Ice

It was dark here. Silent too. He couldn't see anything. Where was this?

Skylar tried standing, but quickly found that his body was too heavy to even move, much less get up. In some small corner in the back of his brain, he knew he should probably be more worried than about it than he was, but nothing was coming up. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. A tired feeling weighed down on his mind, dulling any and all thoughts or observations. Seriously, what was going on?

A small pinprick of light made its way into his field of vision, bobbing through the darkness in an almost drunken way. There was no distinguishable pattern to its movements, but it did seem to be heading for the immobile boy. The light stopped a little ways away, just hovering in the air for a moment before beginning to morph and grow. It slowly changed into a humanoid shape, one that he faintly recognized but couldn't place from where.

"So is this the best you could do without me, boy?" A woman's voice echoed in his head carrying a definite hint of amusement and mockery. "You're going to need to be _much_ stronger if you ever want to find me."

"Shut...up," he forced out through gritted teeth, every word a battle. "Stupid bitch...I was doing just fine...without your damn help."

"Tsk, tsk," the other shook her head in feigned disappointment. "Such language. And doing just fine? I beg to differ." With a wave of her glowing hand she brought up a three small screens in the surrounding space. The first showed him back in that cave, wading through the pool of water with a dazed look in his eyes. The second was he and April under water as they fought to free his leg from the tentacle's grip on it, and the third and final screen simply showed him unconscious in some unfamiliar room with the brunette leaning over him worriedly.

"...Nobody asked you," Skylar muttered after a long pause, looking away in defeat. "Why are you even here?"

"To help you of course," she practically sang. "After all, I can't have you dying yet! I'd be so bored, and then I'd have to go train another source of entertainment. No, you need to stay alive for me a little longer."

"Like I care whether you're entertained or not!" he snarled, angry sparks snapping in his golden eyes. "This is my life! You don't own me!" The teenager probably would have continued had he not felt a sharp blade nicking the skin on his neck. He froze.

"Watch how you talk to me, brat." Her words were laced with venom, sending involuntary shivers up his spine as she drew back the knife that had appeared in her hand. "Remember, this may be your mind but it is still my world. And what I say goes. So be a good little boy and play along, okay?"

Skylar growled in defiance, but said nothing else. The woman's face wasn't visible through the light surrounding her, but he could guess that she was smiling right now in triumph.

"That's better," she crooned. "I really do admire your spirit. Personally, I think it's your best quality. But it can be horribly annoying to have an apprentice who never listens, so this is nice sometimes too. Still..." the woman paused, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, "I really don't want to see you die just yet. So I've got a little deal for you." When he said nothing in response, she took that as a sign to continue. "Alrighty then! I'll help you with this little mess you've gotten yourself into, and you promise not to die yet. Sound fair?"

The boy just glared for a moment until, finally, he gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Whatever."

"Great," his companion clapped happily. She reached down and pressed a single finger to his chest, just above his heart, then chanted a phrase in some language that he didn't understand. A strange icy-blue light started radiating from his chest around her finger. He could just make out a glittering shape by lifting his head slightly.

The light had settled into an almost tattoo-like picture. Seven long, thin diamonds were connected by a single point before extending out. Together, they resembled a flower with seven sharp petals. As he watched, the woman moved her finger to one of the diamonds and chanted something else. It began to split down the center, shooting cracks out on both sides until the "petal" was fully covered by the intricate pattern. With another word, it shattered completely, the individual fragments floating upwards and emitting a single bright burst of light before fading. Skylar could only watch, entranced.

"That was..." he stopped when a loud shattering sound that seemed to resound from both the walls and his very being interrupted. The heavy feeling from before, the one that had begun to ease as he talked with the woman, returned full force. It was practically crushing him, forcing the words to die before they even reached his mouth and his eyelids to droop.

"Unfortunately, our time is up," the other informed him, standing up and brushing imaginary dirt from one of her sleeves. "Until next time we meet, brat. Remember our deal!" Her form began to disappear around the edges, the blackness quickly closing in and devouring the light. The boy felt a familiar tugging on his mind, the one that told him it was time to wake up from a dream, but he wasn't ready to leave yet. There were so many questions that had never been asked!

"Don't you dare disappear yet, you crappy master!" he yelled with the last of his strength. Only her face was left, and the glowing barrier let up for the briefest of moments, giving him one final glance at her deep red eyes and small smile.

"Bye-bye. Stay alive, idiot boy."

~X~

"_This _is your hideout?" Mana asked incredulously, looking around in shock. "No fucking way."

"It's kind of hard to believe," Aki agreed.

"And that is exactly why we haven't been caught yet," Jeremy answered, hands steady on the boat's rudder as he guided them through the familiar dark passages. "Who would look for a rebel base in the island's famous red rock?"

Indeed, that was where they were at the moment. Though the two had been wary at first of these strange people, they'd gone along anyways for curiosity's sake. After boarding one of the many small boats the group had hidden on the other side of the harbor's cliff walls, Jeremy had guided them to a familiar site in the center of the main bay: the red rock. Using a secret passage that ran under the ocean floor, they had safely made it in.

Inside, the walls were surprisingly ordinary, a neutral color that matched the rocks of the islands. However, one notable difference that set it apart from the rest of the area was the glowing red crystals that lined the walls at random intervals. As their boat drew closer to one, Mana reached out a hand to touch it only to jerk back in surprise immediately after.

"Th-they're warm," she observed in a slightly awed voice. "What kind of rocks are these?"

"Ancient ones," was the cryptic answer. "You're right, they do give off heat. But I'm not the one to best explain how they work or their importance. If you'll wait until we get farther in, there's someone who knows much more about it than me."

"If you say so," replied Aki as he too moved to touch one of the crystals. "Hey, this feels really nice. Not too hot or anything."

"Have you guys ever thought of selling these?" the redhead asked. "I'm sure there're a lot of people out there who'd just love 'em."

Jeremy's expression darkened visibly, and she turned, confused at his reaction.

"What?" No answer. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. You just don't understand."

He wouldn't say anything else for the rest of the trip no matter what the pair did, and they eventually gave up on trying. The ride seemed to last forever thanks to the tense silence that now blanketed them, but all things _do_ have to come to an end. And this was no exception. Eventually a light became visible at the other end of the tunnel, inviting them further into the depths of the rock. Said light had a distinct red tint to it, bathing the boat's occupants in its crimson glow as they came out into the open. Two pairs of eyes widened almost in sync at the sight before them.

"Oh my..."

"...God," Aki finished for his redheaded friend.

Faceted, crystalline red walls soared up over their heads in a domed shape, shedding their scarlet light down on the entire area below. Rock ledges jutted out of the sides, ascending all the way up to the top. Built upon these giant ledges were tents and houses by the dozens with people going about their daily business right alongside. The dimensions were almost impossible to measure by eye, but the entire structure must have been at least two-hundred feet tall at the center and the same in diameter. The bottom was completely covered by water, and they could make out figures on some of the lower ledges fishing.

"This is unbelievable," the swordsman murmured, gaze darting around as he tried to take in the entire scene. "What... How many people actually live here?"

"The humans come and go," Jeremy answered, apparently done with the silent treatment. "However, the other inhabitants can't leave, and there are about seventy of them, give or take a few."

"Other inhabitants?"

"Wait a minute," Mana cut in suspiciously, over her initial shock. "The rock's big, sure, but I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't over thirteen feet. How the hell do intend to explain how a thirteen foot rock can fit _this_," she motioned around to indicate the entire settlement. "Inside of it? I'm not great with science or math, but I am positive that the inside of something can't be bigger than the outside."

"The part you saw was merely the very top," he explained patiently. "In fact, this dome is underwater, and continues down past what you can see for who knows how long."

"W-wow," was all she could say in return, too stunned by the entire thing. The girl relaxed back in her seat momentarily, but shot up straight again when the boat was bumped by something underwater. "What was that?"

"That's probably-" the man was cut off when grayish-blue blur shot out of the water to their left and landed on the boat just in front of Mana. She yelped in surprise, unconsciously moving back. "Gordi," he finished in exasperation, shooting a withering glance at the newcomer. "What have I told you about just jumping onto the boat like that? You could have tipped us, and now you've scared these two."

"Oh come on, don't be such a stick in the mud," a childish voice replied sulkily. "I'd rescue anyone who fell overboard. And- wait, did you say you've got other people with you?"

The owner of the voice finally took notice of the pair, turning to face them. A long sharp nose extended from their thin face, and their entire skinny body was covered in shiny, slippery grayish-blue skin. He was dressed simply in an oversized yellow shirt and shorts. Large black eyes were focused on the two pirates over his nose, sparkling with curiosity.

"The other inhabitants are _fishmen_?" Aki turned to Jeremy in disbelief. The man only sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Well this place is just full of surprises, isn't it," their female companion muttered, still staring at Gordi.

"You're pretty," the fishman suddenly said, pointing at her. "Do you want to be my wife?"

"_What_?" Mana and Aki both exclaimed at the same time. The girl shot her fellow crew member a glare that could freeze the sun.

"_You _don't have to sound so surprised you know," she pointed out darkly. He shied back a little, but not without sticking his tongue out first.

"Oh I see," Gordi glanced between the two in disappointment. "You already have somebody."

The redhead choked on the sake she had been in the process of taking a sip from and came up coughing. Aki very nearly fell off the boat in horror.

"_Never_!"

_"_Oh_ hell_ no!" Their responses came at the same time, startling the swordfish-like fishman. Jeremy held back a chuckle from his place in the back of the boat, instead turning the rudder so that they were now headed for the nearest low-hanging ledge. A ladder dangled off the side with a small dock built beside it. He maneuvered them into an open space between two similar boats and began unloading some of the boxes they'd managed to salvage from the wreck of the secret harbor. The man heard Mana groaning in the background, and turned with raised eyebrows to see what the problem was.

She was rubbing her temples, teeth gritted in aggravation. "Something wrong?" he asked amusedly.

"I'm going to need a bar of brain soap to wash that memory from my head," the cook replied as she stepped out of the boat followed by the other two. "That was just..." she shivered. "Never again. I swear, if you ever bring that up, I will seriously kill you."

This last part was directed at Aki and Gordi. The blond shot her a glare. "Trust me, I'm just as scarred by this as you. Probably more."

"But I really thought-" Gordi whispered to Jeremy, who held up a hand to stop him mid-sentence.

"Just leave it," he said with a shake of his head. Noise from above brought his curious gaze up to the crowd gathered just above them. They weren't looking at the newcomers, which would have been perfectly normal, but instead at somewhere off to their far right. The still-masked man could just make out the top of the infirmary above their heads, and what he did see stopped him dead.

Frost was gathered on the roof, even ranging to patched of solid ice in spots, and icicles dangled off the sides like ornaments. What he could see of the walls was encased in clear ice. But that made no sense! It was nowhere near cold enough at this time of year for frost, much less ice, not to mention that it rarely even reached temperatures as low as that inside the rock. The walls themselves gave off heat for goodness' sake! So what was going on?

"What..." that was all he could manage out, but it was enough to get the attention of his three young companions. They turned their faces upwards to see what was wrong. Gordi's eyes widened. Aki and Mana's reactions, however, were a bit more unique. The girl blanched. Her companion began rubbing his eyes to try and clear the image, but he didn't look as surprised by this as he probably should have. In fact, neither of them did. More like surprised that it was happening _here._

"He's not..." Aki turned to his fellow crew member, who only shook her head in confusion.

"I think that's the only logical explanation." A head of auburn off to the side caught her eye, and she pointed at it. "Isn't that the girl from earlier?"

"April?" He followed her finger. "Yeah, it is. Wasn't she with Skylar?"

They shared a look, and without another word dashed towards the ladder. They vaguely heard Jeremy and Gordi calling out to them from behind, probably asking where they were going, but they were ignored. Mana was first to the ladder, scaling it with effortless speed and grace. Her companion was right on her heels, though his climb looked decidedly more human. One sprint through the crowd later found the two right in front of the house.

"Wait!" a familiar voice called, and they turned in time to see the crowd part neatly down the middle for April. She ran over. "You're from his crew right?" They nodded, and she sighed. "Do you know what's wrong with him?" Two shakes of the head, then another sigh. "I'll assume you want to see him," the girl said, reaching for the doorknob without waiting for an answer. "Just be careful."

And with that, the door opened. A gust of frigid wind roared out, bringing with it small bits of ice and snow that stung their faces and forced all three to bring up a hand to protect their eyes. Once it had blown past and it was deemed safe to uncover their eyes, they were met with a sight that seemed not of this world.

The entire room was covered by sparkling ice. Hospital beds had been frozen over and pushed to the side by the winds that swirled within the arctic wonderland, bringing with them more snow and frost. Icicles hung off the ceiling and their upside-down counterparts sprouted from the frozen wood floor. At the very center, a translucent pillar that seemed to glow with cold light rose from the ground to the ceiling. The area around was clear of everything save for a few icicles, and it was that structure that drew them forward.

As the trio approached a figure within the ice began to appear, and with a gasp of surprise Mana recognized it as her captain. His long hair was splayed like a fan around his head, having somehow escaped its usual tie, and his eyes were closed almost serenely. The boy was curled in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest. A strange symbol was glowing just above his heart and also projected on the ice in front, giving them a clear view of the unfamiliar shape. It resembled a flower, though not one any of them had ever seen before. Seven thin diamonds splayed out in a circle, all connected by one point, giving it a pointed, sharp appearance. Still, like the room around them, it was also beautiful in a dangerous way, though what that danger was, none of them could place.

As they watched, one of the petals began to crack and splinter down the middle. It shattered into a million pieces, the remains floating up towards the ceiling and disappearing along the way. It was this that broke the friends out of their trance-like state. Aki turned to face April, questions written all over his face. "How did this all happen?"

"I don't know!" she answered. "One minute he was just sleeping here, and then the temperature began dropping insanely fast! Icicles started forming on the ceiling, and this gigantic gust of wind blew us all out of the building! We couldn't even get back in until now!"

"...Alright then," Mana nodded, unhooking the bottle from her belt. "I'm sure there's more to that story, but that's pretty much all we need right now." She tilted her head back and took a large gulp from it. "I'm going to break him out," the redhead informed them casually, as if talking about the weather. "I'd advise standing back."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" April asked worriedly. "You don't know what could happen. He could get hurt."

"That is a risk I'm willing to take," she grinned. "Besides, you got a better plan?"

"..."

"That's what I thought." The girl took a step forward, but was stopped by April's hand on her arm. At her questioning glance, the other blushed.

"I-I can do it," she murmured. If either of the pirates were alarmed by this, they didn't show it, only looked at each other. Mana shrugged, Aki nodded, and the girl turned back to the brunette.

"Go for it."

With a smile of gratitude, April positioned herself in front of the icy column, fists raised. She closed her eyes in concentration, steadied herself, and let all the noise around her fade away. All of her attention was focused on the structure before her, everything else simply disappearing into the background. The girl took a deep breath, eyes snapping open as she pulled back a fist and slammed it into the right side of the pillar. "West Point!" she shouted, moving right onto the next move without pause. She threw the other fist forward to meet the undamaged side, at the same time yelling, "East Point!" Finally, she drew back both hands and punched them forward together into the very middle. "Equator Line!"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, as if on cue, cracks started to run through the ice at an alarming rate, quickly spreading to cover it entirely. A particularly strong gust of wind was all it took to break the column completely. Giant pieces of ice came crashing down with a loud shattering sound, kicking up stray pieces of frost and flakes of snow. A quiet thump could be heard from the center of the cloud, and when it finally cleared, Skylar's prone form was revealed.

The three rushed over to him immediately, Mana checking his pulse while Aki felt his forehead.

"He's alive."

"No fever."

It was in this moment that the pure ridiculousness of the situation finally sunk in. They had just rescued their friend from the frozen room that he had unconsciously created himself with his uncontrolled Devil Fruit powers in the infirmary of the rebel settlement hidden within the archipelago's namesake, all this on top of the odd experiences they had just had. Aki blew out a sigh of relief and lay back on the iced-over floor.

"This place is insane," he laughed dryly.

"Agreed," Mana said, flopping down next to him.

"It _is _a bit of an unbelievable story," the room's last occupant conceded, also taking a seat.

"Screw unbelievable, I'm trying to convince myself I'm not dreaming," the cook answered, snickering. "Well, it's a big world out there. Odds are, weirder stuff is bound to happen to us the farther we go."

"So are you guys pirates?" April questioned, tilting her head slightly in question.

"Yeah, guess we are," Aki replied with a grin. "That feels so great to say! We're pirates!"

"I thought as much."

A new voice cut into their light-hearted conversation, freezing all three where they were. Standing in the doorway was an old fishman. His beard was long, reaching down past his slightly puckered lips to be level with his second pair of arms. He appeared to have eight in total, and was bright gold in color. A long blue coat rested on his shoulders to ward off the cold in the room. There were laugh lines around his mouth and eyes, but at the moment he was deadly serious.

"Who are you children?"

* * *

**I don't know about anyone else, but I think that the hardest thing about writing (next to editing of course) is starting a new chapter. The blank page is just so intimidating! It looks so much better with a chapter written, no? ^^ A little look into Skylar's past in this chapter which I wasn't planning on doing, but I figured it fit so why not use it? This chapter's shorter than usual, but it's that or waiting another few days for an update because I'm going somewhere with no internet for the next few days. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter, and please leave lots of reviews because you're all awesome like that and I want to know what you think.**

**Come on, you know you want to!**

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	9. Chapter 8: Words Left Unsaid

**For future reference, **_this_** means a flashback or thoughts, depending on the context. Just making it clear.**

* * *

Legacy

Chapter 8: Words Left Unsaid

When April had woken up that morning, she had expected the day to be just like every other: uneventful. It wasn't that unusual of a thought considering how the days leading up to it had gone: largely the same routine of unintentionally exploring the island, getting very lost, and then somehow ending up right back where she'd started. The story of her life, basically. She was convinced that if she could remember how to get to everywhere she'd gone in the past week and a half of being stuck on the archipelago, she would know more about the islands than the inhabitants themselves. Which, in retrospect, was probably true.

Still, all that aside, never in a million years would she have ever even considered the thought of being in the situation she was. If yesterday someone had told her how today was going to go, April probably would have said they were crazy, laughed, and promptly turned around and proceeded to get even more lost than she had been before. But there was no denying it now.

When she had awoken only a few hours earlier, the girl had found herself lying on a bed with Skylar resting peacefully beside her on a second in an unfamiliar room filled with unfamiliar people. Well, people and fishmen, to be exact. They had told her where she was - the rebel base - and then asked her why she had been in that cave earlier. She told them the truth, from meeting Skylar that morning right up to their run-in with that tentacle-monster-thing. They in turn had answered her questions about how she came to be in this strange place and introduced the three fishmen who had rescued them.

~X~

_"There are two entrances into our base," the most forward of the trio, a young octopus fishman, informed her before she could even pose the question of why they had been there in the first place. "The most-used one is an underwater tunnel beneath the main harbor, and we have guards stationed at the entrance to that at all times. However, the second one is only used in cases of emergency, seeing as it's less known and much harder to get to." _

_He escorted her outside, and after April was done gaping around her at the settlement within the rock, sat them both down on the edge of the rock ledge and pointed to a barely visible underwater fissure in the rocks on the opposite side of the dome. It was large enough to fit two of the small boats she could also see docked near it side-by-side, but just barely._

_"And then I'm sure you're dying to know what it was that dragged your friend down in the first place," he deduced with a small smirk. Without waiting for an answer, he moved his puckered lips into an "o" shape and whistled a few sharp notes in quick succession. For a moment, nothing happened. April turned to her companion with a quizzical expression, to which he only pressed a finger to his lips. "Wait." A few bubbles formed on the surface of the water just under them, though more soon began to take shape. _

_She would later swear that her eyes had been as big as dinner plates when the pointed maroon shape first began to rise out of the water. And kept rising. It must have been at least fifteen feet into the air before two gigantic eyes finally appeared, one on each side of the cone-shaped mass that she now recognized as a head. Several tentacles rested on the water's surface, and one of them brought itself up in a tentative wave to her. It seemed almost...shy. _

_"W-what is that?" the girl asked shakily, caught somewhere between her screaming instincts to get away and the vapid curiosity this new addition to the group brought. For the moment, it appeared as though curiosity had won out, as she stayed exactly where she was. That, or she was simply paralyzed with fear. Hopefully, it was the former._

_"Ever heard of a siren squid?" She shook her head, suddenly feeling a bit dumb. "Don't worry about it," the fishman quickly assured her. "I would be surprised if you had. They can only be found near this one tiny island in the Grand Line, and then I think in the Calm Belt. They make this sound that drives humans absolutely crazy, especially males. Females can hear it too, but on a much smaller degree. They use the song to lure in their prey. My dad, the head of our village and former pirate, brought this lady back with him when he returned home twenty years ago. Her name's Melody, and she's our other guard of that entrance." He raised a hand to her. "Speaking of names, mine's Han. Nice to meet you...?" The words hung in the air, an obvious question._

_"April Brokes," she replied with a small smile, taking the offered hand. "It's my pleasure."_

_"April, huh?" Han echoed, a melancholy look flitting across his features for a second before quickly disappearing again. "That's a pretty name."_

_She didn't miss the expression, and had blurted out her next words without thinking. "Is something wrong?" The girl clapped her hands over her mouth, but the damage had been done. Her companion met her gaze with a look that was both sad and sheepish._

_"Ah, it just..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck without meeting her gaze. "My oldest daughter was named April too. She...she died. Was killed, actually."_

_April didn't want to pry, but she knew from watching her mother after her father's death how important it was to talk about things like this, not just let them eat away at oneself. And from the looks of it, Han had yet to have a serious discussion about it with someone who could actually help him heal. Not that she was sure about her abilities to help, but she had to at least try. "How?" she asked softly, the word gentle and soothing._

_Confusion, sorrow, distrust; the emotions raged in his eyes, each fighting for control. "Why?" he asked at length._

_"...I lost my dad when I was ten," she explained after a moment of mental debate, a similar sadness to his dancing in her multi-colored eyes. "Then my mom a year later to a disease in my village. She'd always been so strong, but I think Dad's death just broke her. She tried to hold up for me and my grandma, but in the end, I'm not even sure if it was the disease that really killed her. I sometimes wonder if maybe she just didn't have the strength to keep on living without him. She never talked about him, not to anyone, and maybe that's what did it. Mom just let it eat away at her until there was nothing left. I can't even imagine how she must have felt." _

_April took a moment to let all that she'd said sink in, then continued, eyes focused on her legs as she swung them back and forth where they dangled off the egde. _

_"Of course, I was young back then, and the shock of losing both my parents in one year was a lot. It probably would have been too much if it wasn't for my grandma. She made me talk to her, so I can tell you firsthand that letting time pass won't heal the wounds. It just covers them up and lets the infection spread, and by the time you realize it, it's too late. So to ask why...I just think that's what's best, you know? Have you talked to anyone about what happened?" Silence, then an almost imperceptible shake of the head. "Would you like to?"_

_The question hung in the air for a long moment. She'd said her piece, now it was up to Han to decide if he wanted to talk. If not, she wasn't going to force him. The silence dragged on, and just when it seemed that he really had clammed up, a single question broke the awkward quiet._

_"Have you ever heard of the slave trade that goes on in Shabody Archipelago?"_

_"A little," she replied, unsure of where he was going with this. "Why?"_

_"A few months back, the main officials sent out a notice that they were looking for fishmen to sell. Acosta, being the greedy, heartless bastard he is, wasn't about to just sit there and let such an amazing opportunity to make money fly away when he had whole villages full of us just sitting on the islands. We didn't use to live like this," he gestured around. "This was a sacred place where our ancestors are thought to have lived thousands of years ago, before these islands even rose out of the sea. Before Acosta came along, there were just as many fishmen as there were humans here. That changed when he started the raids._

_"At first, they were subtle, just a few of us going missing during the night. Only when we began to question why so many of us were disappearing did the mass raids start. He sent those thugs you've probably seen out there, those pirates for hire, after us in small armies," he spat that last part out, disgust and hatred evident on his face. They quickly faded, however, to be replaced by a deep sorrow only understood by those who have also lost a loved one. _

_April imagined that must have been how she looked for that first year after the deaths of her parents, the time when she'd almost forgotten how to smile. The world had seemed gray and lifeless, life meaningless. She made a mental note to sincerely thank her grandmother for probably the hundredth time for being there during those awful months._

_"It was one of the last raids before we moved to the rock," Han continued, the words he had kept bottled up for so long now coming out in a rush as if he was afraid that if he stopped talking, she would disappear. "The plans were set, we all knew the move was necessary. My house was even packed up. But then they came to our village. Those men burned down our houses, trashed and looted our belongings, and kidnapped our people because of the selfishness of one man. April and my other daughter Sara were playing by the water, and they were the first to see them coming." _

_He paused for breath, but even that seemed to take too long. "They ran back to the village to warn us, and that's why I'm here now and not on some ship heading for Shabody Archipelago. April was seven, Sara only five, but they were so brave. The two of them reached the village with the raiders right behind them, and we all had just enough time to hide before they showed up. It seemed like everything was going to be alright, they were even leaving! But then this guy came out from the middle of them. I'll never forget his eyes; lifeless, but cruel. Light wouldn't even shine off them. He sniffed the air once, then pointed right to where my daughters were hiding. 'Search over there,' he said, and there was this sick amusement in his words. Needless to say, they found them. April was killed when one of them decided she wasn't worth the trouble, putting up such a fight and protecting her sister like that. They shot her! Right in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do a damn thing because those thugs had found my wife and I too!"_

_Tears were streaming down his cheeks at this point, but Han made no moves to stop the flow. He was too caught up in the memories._

_"We fought them off. All I could think of was getting to my daughters, and I didn't care how big the people who got in my way were. Eventually, the raiders ran away. But it was too late! April was barely breathing, and Sara was gone, along with half of my village. We've sent ships after them, and you have no idea how much I want to be on one of them. But I need to be here for my wife. This is my fault! If I'd gotten there sooner, if they'd hidden with us, there are so many things I could have done! But I didn't, and now they're gone. She's only five! Why am I so useless-"_

_**Smack!**_

_The self-depreciating flow of words was abruptly cut off when April slapped her companion across the face. Hard._

_"This is not your fault!" she cried in unexpected anger, drawing a few curious stares from the ledge's surrounding inhabitants as she shot to her feet. "Don't say things like that! There was nothing you could have done about what happened. What would your daughters say if they saw you like this? Yes, what happened was terrible, and I do understand your pain, but you've got to move on and rid yourself of those thoughts. They're only hurting you more and keeping you from ever helping your __**surviving**__ daughter. Don't just give up like that and immediately start blaming yourself, because that does nothing for anyone!"_

_The girl was panting by the end of her speech, eyes brimming with some unnameable emotion. Eventually though, her hard gaze began to soften, the angry glint giving out to gentle understanding, and she returned to her position beside Han, who was still speechless._

_"See what I mean about talking to others?" she prompted with a kind smile. "Don't you feel better now?"_

_"Surprisingly, yes," he finally admitted, ruefully raising a hand to rub his still-stinging cheek. "Well, my mind does. My cheek has definitely seen better days. You don't look it, but you're surprisingly very strong. Can you break rocks too?"_

_"Not yet, but I'm working on it," she answered in the same teasing tone, relieved by how well he had taken the whole thing. April had expected more yelling and denial, but she was most definitely not complaining about it. After all, the easier they took it, the better. The two just sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts. Somewhere in the midst of this, April realized that she should probably see how Skylar was doing as she hadn't checked on him since she had left with Han. Slowly, the girl rose to her feet, brushing the tiny stray rocks and dirt from her hands in the process. At the others quizzical look, she gave him an apologetic smile. "I should go check on my friend now. He seemed fine earlier, but I want to see if he's woken up yet."_

_"Ah," he nodded in understanding, pointing at the infirmary behind them. "I trust you can find your way back on your own."_

_"I think I'll manage," she grinned before turning back and heading for the open door. _

_Han's voice floated over her shoulder as he quietly added, almost as an afterthought, "Thank you. It helped more than you can imagine, and for that I'm extremely grateful."_

_"Don't mention it," she answered without looking back, resuming her journ_ey _to see her unconscious friend. "It was my pleasure."_

~X~

"I do not like to repeat myself," the words broke April out of her thoughts, returning her to the present with a jolt. Her gaze focused in on the speaker, an elderly fishman who greatly resembled the one she had been talking to earlier. _The leader of the village,_ he had said. Well, it certainly seemed that way at the moment. Even after realizing this, however, she still had no idea what to say. "Who are you?"

"...What's it to you?" the redhead to her right finally asked, a cautious edge to her voice. April thought she'd heard Skylar mention her name at one point during their adventure through the tunnels, but it was slipping her mind at the mind. Something with an 'm'...

"Mana," the blond boy started warningly, unwittingly answering her question. She knew his name, courtesy of the sleeping teen's constant complaining about how annoying he was. Aki, Mana, and Skylar, huh? The girl felt a sudden rush of happiness at being able to meet these people, pirates or no. They seemed like a lot of fun, almost like some sort of dysfunctional family. All three knew where they belonged in that family too, making it seem all the more appealing. Was this how pirate crews were supposed to work? "Don't be stupid," he continued, oblivious to her thoughts.

"As the leader of the resistance group and the head of the village, it is my duty to protect those under my command, so of course I want to know what the cause of such a fuss is," the elder replied calmly, seemingly unfazed by Mana's rudeness. The tension in the air rose again as the three resumed their staring contest, April alternating between watching them nervously and checking on Skylar. His breathing was normal, but his skin still felt so cold! That couldn't be good, could it?

"Dad!"

"Endo!"

The two shouts tore her from her internal panicking, drawing all eyes to the two figures in the doorway. Han was in the lead, followed by a panting man in a white mask. Scruffy brown hair stuck out at odd angles on the human newcomer's head, made visible by the way he was leaning down, hands on his knees, to try and catch his breath again.

"Jeremy?" Aki wondered out loud. The other raised a hand in acknowledgement, but made no other moves.

"What do you need?" the addressed fishman, presumably Endo, cocked his head slightly in question.

"They're not a danger to us," Han said, obviously trying to reassure his father.

"Or at least, we don't think they are," Jeremy added, earning himself a glare from his companion.

"_They're not_," the fishman continued with more force than necessary. "We brought them here, and I promise you that at least two of them aren't bad people."

"I guess I can vouch for the other two, for what it's worth," the other man shrugged. "They don't seem to like Acosta. I found them in that secret harbor surrounded by a bunch of beaten sailors, and I can only assume they were the cause. We brought back a ton thanks to that."

Endo nodded, but when he turned back to them, his expression was still doubtful. "What happened here then?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out he was talking about the room and, more specifically, the ice covering it. He got nothing in the way of a solid answer, though, only a few shrugs to show that they were all just as lost as him. It was lucky for all involved then when Skylar began to stir, unwilling to wake up but doing so anyways.

The boy sat up shakily, rubbing his eyes to clear the last lingering traces of sleep from their golden depths. All eyes were focused on him, but he seemed not to realize this for a long moment, instead entranced by the frigid world he had unknowingly created. Slowly though, awareness returned. His mind began to function properly again, and the first thing he did was do a double-take at his surroundings.

"The hell happened here?" Skylar murmured, confusion very evident on his face. It was a bit unsettling to see that he had no more of an idea what was going on than the rest of them, though on second thought, April guessed that was to be expected.

"That's what we're all wondering," the leader cut in, startling the other into realizing that, yes, they were in fact people in the room with him. "Care to enlighten us, seeing as you're the cause?"

"The cause? I'm..." It took a minute for that to sink in. "_What_? But this hasn't happened since..."

Once again, he trailed off, this time with a more suspicious expression. Without waiting for any sort of answer from the surrounding people, he undid the top button of his jacket and tugged down the collar of his shirt just enough to reveal part of his chest. Sure enough, the symbol from earlier was emblazoned there, one of the spaces empty due to the mysterious disappearance of it's petal. The black of the tattoo stood out against his skin, only making it more glaringly obvious than it already was. The captain let out a sound that was somewhere between a hiss and a growl, drawing a few raised eyebrows from his observers.

"Damn woman," he snarled. "I can't believe her. To go this far... She better _hope_ I never find her."

"What _is_ that, Skylar?" Mana interrupted his ranting. His head shot up in surprise, as if he'd forgotten they were all there.

"Um," the boy was uncharacteristically quiet, not at all like his usual confident, condescending self. "It-it's a seal for my powers," he finally admitted, stumbling over the words slightly. "I got it a long time ago, back when I couldn't control them at all. It's a damn powerful fruit, you know, and I ate it when I was a little kid. I probably would have ended up destroying my hometown and myself before long, so my master placed a limiter on my abilities. Ever wonder why I faint when I use it too much? Well, that's why. There's seven limits placed, probably for my own good. Problem is, I don't know how to undo them, so I'm stuck like this."

His explanation had been just vague enough to answer the original question while at the same time raising hundreds more. Who was his master? Where did he grow up? Why did he eat the fruit in the first place? If he didn't remove the first level, then who did? With each question raised that they had no answer to, his friends began to realize more and more just how little they knew of him. He was a mystery to them all, a complete enigma who had just waltzed into their lives with no explanation and changed them forever.

Aki opened his mouth to give voice to one of his multiple queries, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Mana shook her head, her gray eyes conveying her message without any words: _Leave it alone for now. He'll tell us when he'd ready._

Mana would know better than anyone what it was like to keep secrets from her friends, and the blond acknowledged this. He dutifully dropped the matter, but it was far from closed, and they both knew that. Someday, Skylar would tell them.

They'd make him.

~X~

Luckily, Endo, Jeremy, and Han weren't the prying type of people, so they also let the conversation drop there, satisfied with the answer they had gotten. The whole incident ended up wrapping up rather nicely. Endo even offered them shelter for their time at the archipelago, seeing as they probably wouldn't be wanted on the islands after what they'd done. But there was still a question gnawing at Skylar, and it wouldn't leave him alone.

What was Acosta after?

Yeah, he got a lot out of the deal, what with all the money and everything, but why here? Was it really just a random location? From what he'd managed to scrape together from Han and Jeremy in the past hour since he'd woken up, Acosta hadn't been born on the islands. Maybe it really was just that they were an easy target like everyone seemed to believe. But there was something that didn't sit right with the boy about that, and he didn't even know what. It was just a gut feeling he had, one he couldn't rid himself of. For some reason, the images of the rocks from the caves and the one they were currently residing within wouldn't leave him. They almost seemed...familiar. Where had he seen them before?

It was on the morning of their second day in the rock that it finally hit him. He was fishing with Mana and April while Aki worked on his sword forms behind them. It was a surprisingly peaceful moment after a not-so-peaceful first day, one that had been filled with questions and being escorted around. Once he knew that he was the cause of the problem, Skylar had easily been able to defrost the infirmary, though large puddles still remained behind as a reminder of what had been. After seeing his powers, he was immediately swamped by a mob of curious children, both human and fishman, none of whom had ever seen a Devil Fruit user before. He finally managed to escape after making them a small playground of ice, for which they were immensely grateful.

The teen flexed his hand at the memory, recalling how easy it had been to draw on the power and how he hadn't been dead tired after his little project. Sure, he'd been a little wobbly for a while afterwords, but there was no heaviness or pressing need to lie down. And that pleased him greatly, though at the same time, he had to wonder what it would feel like to have all the limits lifted. Would he be as powerful as his predecessor, Admiral Aokiji? Probably. Would he kill himself?

...Probably.

So this was best for now, no matter how annoying it was. A yell from behind drew him out of his musings, and he turned to see April's and his rescuer approaching. He wasn't alone though. A slim grayish-blue figure walked beside him, dressed in a simple red dress. Her long nose looked sharp, but when he met her eyes, they were warm and comforting. A swordfish then, and a very kind-looking one too. By the way the two looked at each other, he could only assume they were married.

"Hi guys," Han nodded in greeting before turning to April. "I just wanted you to meet my wife. She heard about what you did the other day, and, well-"

"I can talk for myself," she interrupted his stammering in an light voice, laughter glittering in her black eyes. "What my husband is trying to say is thank you, April. We both really appreciate what you did for us, and if there's anything we can do to repay you, just ask."

"Eh? No, it was nothing," the girl blushed, both because of the words and the questioning but amused looks her friends were shooting her. "I just wanted to help, Mrs...?"

"Oh, don't call me Mrs.!" the other laughed. "It makes me feel old. Just Selphie's fine."

When she laughed, the pendant around her neck began to sway on it's chain, the light reflecting off the rosy jewel in the center. It wasn't the same color, but it was enough to spark a bit of recognition within Skylar. The red pendant that his master used to wear, the one that matched her eyes, the one that glowed in the dark and gave off heat.

The one that was the same color as Mana's hair.

"Flame diamonds!" he cried suddenly, the memory finally resurfacing enough for him to grasp onto it. Han and Selphie stiffened while the others just sent him curious glances.

"Flame diamonds?" Aki repeated. "What are those?"

"They're this," his captain pointed to the crystalline dome above their heads. "All those red rocks we saw, that's what they were." That part was directed at April, who could only nod, still a bit stunned by the sudden outburst. "I can't believe I forgot. I'm right, aren't I?" he turned to the two fishmen.

"...Yes, that is correct." Han's voice was mechanical as he answered.

"I don't get it," Mana chimed in. "What's so great about them?"

"They're one of the rarest jewels in the world." Selphie wouldn't meet her eyes. "And one of the most expensive."

"That's what he's after, isn't it?" Skylar deduced, finally putting two and two together. "Acosta, I mean."

"We think so."

"Most likely."

"It all makes sense now!" the boy exclaimed happily, returning to watching his fishing pole. "Okay, that's all I wanted to know. Just had to prove to myself that I wasn't crazy or anything."

Silence. Obviously, no one was able to bounce back from this realization as quickly as their captain had, and the two natives' heads were still reeling by his abrupt end to the conversation.

"That's all?" Han finally ventured.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not going to, you know, demand some or steal any?"

"Why would I do that?" He seemed generally puzzled. "They'd just bring back bad memories for me."

"B-but you're a pirate, right?"

Skylar sighed. "Unwillingly, yes, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to loot every town I come across, you know?"

Mana walked up to Han and patted him on the back sympathetically. "Don't worry, we don't understand him either. He's just weird like that, and arguing will probably only give you a headache."

Before any of them could continue this odd conversation, a commotion from the docks drew their attention away. A small crowd was gathered there, surrounding a shaking elderly man and Gordi, who was trying to comfort him. The group made their way over quickly, wondering what happened. As they drew closer, a few snatches of the man's barely coherent speech could be heard.

"I-I...and they...they took her away! He found out her connections here! She's gone, arrested! What do I do, _what do I do_?" The last words were choked out by the tears that finally began to fall, not that he seemed to take any notice.

"Who was it that they took?" Selphie whispered to one of the women to her right. At the others grim face, a sinking feeling began to form in the pit Skylar's stomach. He didn't know why, but again, he felt horribly uneasy just because of a few random words. The conversation he'd heard in the bar three days ago kept replaying in his head.

_"Poor Marie. This is the fifth raise this month. If it keeps up like this, they'll have to close at the next one."_

_"And then both she and the old man will be out of work." _

It was such a small connection, he didn't even know why he'd thought of it. And yet, when the answer was said, it came as no surprise. In fact, he already knew what it would be.

"They took Marie."

* * *

**Oh my gosh, this is so much later than I wanted it to be! But now I bet you're glad I put up last chapter when I did. If only I could have gotten this one up faster. I swear, I spend no time in my house anymore. Wasn't summer supposed to be LESS busy than the school year? ...Anywho, enough of my bitching. I did actually do something productive for my writing during my time without internet: planned out the story! Yep, on the Notes app on my iPod, there is a plot outline up until the New World (providing I get that far, which seems really daunting now). This has also made me realize something: some of your characters might not show up for a while. And we're talking a LONG while, especially those joining Sky's crew later in the story (look at Brook from the original story. He's not introduced until somewhere in the 400's!). But never fear, I promise you that every character thus far will show up eventually. I have a role for everyone! ...I think.**

**Moving on, thanks a million to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I do read them, and I'm sure all you fellow writers understand just how awesome it feels to get reviews. So with that in mind... go forth and review! ^^**


	10. Chapter 9: Division

Legacy

Chapter 9: Division

"They took Marie."

"M-Marie?" April echoed shakily after a long pause, turning to Skylar worriedly. "Not the bartender we met, right?"

He didn't reply, grim expression speaking for him.

"Right?"

The boy wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Oh no," she whispered. "But Marie's not that uncommon of a name! It could be someone else."

"I don't think so," Skylar shook his head, gaze sliding to meet those of his other friends, who both looked about as surprised by this as he was. They had seen him tense up from the start, and that coupled with the fact that they didn't know who Marie was left them confused but not all too shocked. His eyes continued on their path to Selphie and Han, who wore identical expressions of resigned helplessness. The feeling seemed to permeate the air, mixed with weariness and fear, the frayed emotions of those who had been in hiding too long.

"So...who's going to rescue her?"

The question sliced through the momentary lull in conversation like a knife, drawing all eyes to the speaker. Aki met their shocked, occasionally even appalled faces with innocent puzzlement and open, questioning eyes. What was the saying again? Ignorance is bliss? Mana was beginning to think that the blond was that statement personified, not that she'd ever tell him. He probably wouldn't understand.

When no one answered, he just tilted his head in inquiry. "What?"

"I-it's too dangerous," someone finally muttered, though the boy couldn't make out who had spoken up through the crowd. "We'll get ourselves killed. It's been tried before, and...none of the people who left ever came back. The entire thing is just one big suicide mission."

"But-"

"Idiot," his redheaded friend cut him off, smacking him over the head for good measure. "You really are every bit as dumb as you look. What the hell did I say about playing hero?"

"You also said it was okay if it was something a normal person would do," he insisted, undeterred and not ready to give this up just yet. "_I'm_ a normal person, and to me it feels right to go!"

"There is a big difference between the _right_ thing to do and the _smart_ thing to do," she retorted without skipping a beat. "And running straight into enemy territory with no idea what we're doing or where to go is most definitely not smart."

"So it's only okay if you say so?" Aki shot back hotly.

"Would you really be surprised if I said yes?"

Silence reigned as the two glared at each other, neither willing to back down from what they thought was right. The crowd watched with baited breath, even the man who had been almost in hysterics only a moment ago, all anxious to see the outcome. Whatever it was, it would probably decide their fate.

"Stop it," a clear, authoritative voice broke the quiet. Skylar stepped between them with a blank look on his face. "We're not going. They're right; it'd be a suicide mission, and I don't want to waste either of your lives on this."

"But-"

"Aki." His tone was threatening, dissuading any arguments the other might put up. "No means no."

He still looked like he wanted to protest, but Mana dragged him away before he could say anything else, muttering something along the lines of, "Don't be a moron."

Skylar wouldn't meet the bar owner's eyes, nor those of anyone else. He simply headed off in a different direction from his friends, still refusing to look at any of the disappointed or just plain insulted expressions of those around him. April looked worriedly back and forth between the direction Aki and Mana had left in and Skylar's chosen path, trying to decide who she should follow, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from moving. It was Han, shaking his head to tell her to give them peace. To her dismay, the harsh whispers of the crowd followed her lone friend out, but he paid them no heed.

Not visibly, at least.

~X~

In the quiet of the night, a figure slowly rose from his bed, taking extra pains to ensure that he didn't wake anyone he didn't want up. He had been eagerly awaiting this moment for the past few hours, when everyone was in bed and his plan could finally be executed. As silently as possible, the boy slowly made his way to his sleeping friend on the other side of the room.

This was the place he and his crew members had been staying in up until this point. There were two beds on his side of the room, though now they both lay empty. One didn't appear to have been slept in at all, something which worried the house's only awake occupant. Still, he pressed on until he was beside the bed holding his sleeping companion.

"Mana, wake up," his quiet voice hissed in the girl's ear. The hand he'd rested on her shoulder was shaking her forcibly into wakefulness, a fact she was understandably less than pleased about.

"Go away before I kill you," Mana muttered in return, turning over on her bed in an attempt to escape the offending person. Obviously, whoever it was couldn't take a hint, as the shaking only increased in intensity. Her fist shot out unconsciously, just barely connecting with the boy's shoulder. The hit elicited a quiet grunt of pain from the it's recipient, and that was enough to at least get her to crack one eye open. "The hell do you want this early in the morning, blondie?"

Aki pressed a finger to his lips. "Be quiet. I don't want to wake anyone up."

She snorted, shutting her eye again. "You're not doing a very good job of that then."

"You know what I mean."

"No I don't. It's too early in the damn morning, which brings us back to my first question: what do you want?"

The blond bit his lip apprehensively, clearly dreading this part. "I want to-"

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"You want to go help that girl, right?" From his guilty expression, Mana could guess that her deduction was right on the mark. Her expression softened fractionally. "I do too. But it's just too dangerous. And besides, Skylar already said we couldn't go."

"I know, but-"

"The answer is still no."

"Listen to what I have to say!" he hissed. The girl gave him a critical look, but propped herself up on her elbows to listen anyways.

"Shoot," she ordered once she was comfortable.

"I know Skylar said no, but I still really think we should do this. If we're quick, just go in, grab her, and get out really fast, we might even make it back before the sun rises. But I can't do this alone."

"So you're trying to recruit _me_?" Her words were incredulous, and rightfully so, but he simply met her gaze and nodded. She sighed. "Let's say I choose to go along with this, which I definitely have not, by the way," Mana started hypothetically. "There are quite a few problems I can find just from what you said. What about guards? Do you even know what the girl looks like? And most importantly, do you have any idea what our dearest captain would do to us once we got back?"

Aki visibly paled at the last one, but held his ground. "We can take him." Her doubtful answering look clearly said: _No_, we most certainly can _not_. Other than the look though, she politely kept her opinions to herself.

"Look, I still just don't think it's a good idea," she shook her head and started to lower herself back onto the bed. The blond knew it was now or never. He had to play his trump card.

"You know, we might have to pass through the kitchens on our way to the dungeons or wherever they're holding her."

Mana froze, eyes flicking to him warily. He had to hold back a smirk at the curious glint in them. She'd fallen for it!

_Hook..._ "Go on."

_Line..._ "I'm just saying, they probably have a bunch of rare and cool ingredients there, and since we'd already be in trouble for taking Marie back, taking some of them couldn't hurt. Just think of all the cool stuff they probably have, and how awesome it would be to cook and eat it!"

_And..._ Realization dawned in her eyes. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, still fighting that smirk.

There was a long pause as she considered what he'd just said. Aki waited with baited breath. This was the crucial part, and if she turned him down, he'd never be able to rescue the girl.

"...Get your swords. We're leaving now."

_Sinker, baby!_

He could have soared twenty feet into the air at that moment, but chose to spend the time on more important things like, oh, fetching his swords from where they leaned against the foot of his bed. Celebration could come later. After all, convincing Mana had been the easy part.

As quietly as they could, the pair snuck out of the house, carefully making their way to the ladder that led down to the main dock where they had landed with Jeremy the other day. Aki climbed down while Mana checked for any signs of human life. Satisfied with how empty the place appeared, the girl followed her fellow crew mate down the ladder, choosing to jump from halfway instead of descending the last few rungs like he had. All seemed well, and they allowed themselves a short breath of relief.

"I thought you two would come here."

They jumped, whirling to face the owner of the dreadingly-familiar voice. Sure enough, there Skylar stood in the center of the dock, arms crossed casually across his chest and seemingly completely at ease. He was smirking. For a moment, no one moved. No words were exchanged. The two eyed him worriedly, just waiting for him to explode at them about disobeying him. Instead, he just turned to the already prepared boat next to him and jumped in. When neither made any move to follow, he turned back with an exasperated sigh. "Well? You coming or not?"

It took a minute for the words to sink in, but once they had, the change was obvious. Mana was looking at him like he was crazy, but she always looked at him like that. Nothing accusatory or upset, just mild confusion and the will to follow her captain to the end of the world. Aki was grinning like he was possessed, incredibly happy with this turn of events. The guilty feeling was fading fast from his stomach, as was the nervousness, to be replaced by an almost invincible one now that Skylar was on their side again.

They left without another word, only pausing briefly at the main exit to wave goodbye to the sleeping village. The trio traveled in silence for the first part of the journey, but eventually Aki just couldn't hold back the question that he was sure was plaguing Mana's thoughts as much as his anymore.

"Why did you say no to it back then if we were just going to anyways?" the blond asked once he deemed they were far enough away to not be heard.

"I didn't want to get their hopes up for nothing," the other answered resignedly, leaning back slightly in his seat and shutting his eyes. "If we succeed, great for us. But if not, it'll just reenforce the belief in their minds that they can't win against him, and they'll keep living like this forever. If we do end up dying, at least they'll be able to think that we really left without telling anyone."

"That's...actually really smart," Mana observed. "But now they hate our guts."

"Let them. There's nothing we can do now," the boy shrugged, and she almost would have believed that he really didn't care if she hadn't seen his eyes at that exact moment. They were filled with incredible loneliness and a resigned kind of sadness that made her heart hurt just looking at it. What must it be like for him, who was actually feeling that? How many times had he gone through this process? Worse, how many times had he failed what he was trying to accomplish?

She traded a look with Aki when their captain wasn't watching, and saw that he shared her sentiments on it. He'd also seen the dead look in the teenager's eyes, and they were obviously thinking the same thing about it: maybe it was better for everyone else, but what about Skylar?

Without giving herself a moment to reconsider the idea, Mana reached out and pulled the other into a hug. He stiffened but didn't try and pull away, which she took as a good sign.

"Wha...why...?" Skylar was trying to ask her something, but the words weren't coming. She smirked slightly into his shoulder.

"Because I feel like it," was the muffled response. "Now shut up and relax."

For a few seconds, he seemed like he was going to try and push her away. After a small mental war though, the younger finally decided to just give in, awkwardly returning her embrace with a loose one of his own. She smiled, running her fingers through his hair in a comforting, almost motherly way.

"The world's not resting on your shoulders, you know," the redhead informed him after a long moment. "Other people can take care of themselves just fine. It's alright to protect yourself sometimes too. And remember, you're not alone anymore. We're here for you, and it's not like we can't take some of the burden too. Rely on us sometimes, cause that's what we're here for. That's what a crew is, right? If you ever need to talk, we'll listen. Or I will, at least. The idiot might not." Aki stuck his tongue out at her from his position at the back rowing the boat, but otherwise did nothing to disrupt the moment. She smiled at him before turning back to Skylar.

Mana opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped when she noticed how he'd yet to open his eyes. The boy's arms had slackened around her, and his breathing was shallow and quiet. Almost like...

"I think the brat fell asleep on me," she realized in disbelief, unsure if she should be indignant or amused. "Do you think he even heard a word I said?"

"You know what, I bet he did," Aki replied with a smile as his companion gently lowered their captain so he could lie on one of the three benches that ran across the center of the boat.

"Good, cause I'm not saying it again," Mana grumbled, settling down on another of the benches herself and reaching for her sake bottle. "Too mushy for my tastes."

"I didn't think it was that bad."

"You would say that." She turned her attention to the water, mesmerized by the waves as they lapped against the sides and then fell back again. The process was hypnotizing, and she almost missed her blond friend's next words.

"It's kind of hard to believe that he's really three years younger than me," Aki laughed sheepishly. "I mean, I'm still stronger and more handsome-"

"And more modest," the cook interjected dryly.

"Yeah, that too," he agreed teasingly. "But back to what I was saying earlier, despite all that, I think Sky's a lot more mature than I am. Our ages could be swapped, and no one would be able to tell. In fact, he'd probably be mature for my age too."

"Hm," she hummed in agreement. "I think you're half right. He's grown up about some things, but not others. For example, he's just as involved in our stupid little fights as we are."

"Maybe, but _his_ answers actually make sense."

"Meh. You should never ruin a good argument with facts," Mana shrugged, but inwardly she was in agreement. Aki was staring at her now, and it was a bit uncomfortable. "What?" she finally asked, tone a bit more harsh than was probably necessary. He didn't even flinch.

"Nothing. I was just thinking..." She had to bite back her sharp comment at that and listen to the rest. "You can be mature sometimes too. Like just then, for instance. I don't know, but you never really struck me as the parental type. Still...good job."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, but then again, she wasn't looking up anymore either. The darkness was masking her slight blush at the comment, but she'd be damned before letting him find out that it actually had affected her in the least.

"Go to hell, idiot," she muttered, which he only laughed at to her extreme annoyance. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Aki replied with a blinding smile.

"...Moron."

He only laughed harder.

~X~

"I don't like this. It seems too easy."

Aki rolled his eyes at the redhead's comment. "Will you relax? We haven't been caught yet, and that was climbing up the_ cliff_. If they wanted to shoot us down, they would have already done it."

"Not necessarily," she protested, gesturing towards the wide expanse of space separating them from the stairs leading up to the restaurant's back door. "There's plenty of room there for a little target practice, or at the very least an ambush."

"If you two don't shut up, _I'll_ be the one using you for target practice," Skylar snapped, just barely quelling the urge to massage his temples. "Mana, don't be so pessimistic. Aki, don't be such a moron. Please."

Secretly, he was leaning more towards Mana's point of view, but saying that would only add more fuel to the fire. He had expected to at least _see_ a guard or two in the secret harbor where they'd landed, or along the stairs up to this point, and yet there had been nobody in sight. Frankly, it was quite unsettling to the boy. Didn't Acosta even care about raids? Was he really that confident that the harbor wouldn't be found, or was there something else going on?

_Well, we won't find anything out by just sitting here,_ he decided with a sigh, rising out of his crouch. The three were currently hiding behind a large pile of boulders, but it wasn't tall enough to fully hide any of them should they stand up. Ignoring the protests of his crew, Skylar stepped out into the open space before them and waited. For what he wasn't sure, but maybe there really was an ambush. Though the fact that they hadn't been discovered despite their not-so-stealthy arguing only moments ago strongly hinted against that, there was always a chance.

Only silence greeted his movement forward however, punctuated solely by the occasional chirping of the small birds that made their homes within the rocks. He waved for the others to follow, all the while scanning the area for anything that looked even remotely like a trap. Nothing came up, but rather than putting his mind at ease, this observation only served to heighten his paranoid feelings. All his senses were on overdrive by the time they reached the doors at the top of the second set of stairs, and at this point a trap would be almost welcomed.

Key word: almost.

Skylar had barely stepped into the main room when a loud rumbling sound from behind alerted him that all was not right. He whirled, but it was too late. Already, the heavy doors were swinging shut seemingly of their own accord, but it wasn't even that fact that had him so shocked. No, his distress was stemming from the ground below his friends as it quickly crumbled and began to fall away into the darkness underneath, taking the paralyzed two down with it. The boy shot forward, colliding with the doors just as they slammed shut. No amount of pulling at the handles or beating at the unforgiving wooden surface would make them move again, so he tried calling for them.

"Guys!" he cried as loud as he dared, still painfully aware of the situation he was now in and more wary than ever thanks to the recent turn of events. Acosta may have known they were there now, but there was no need to go broadcasting his location to everyone on the island. "Aki, Mana! Answer me! Are you alright?"

For one long, terrible moment, there was no response. Then, finally, an answering call came, muffled by the doors in between. "We're still alive, if that's what you're asking," Mana replied, rubbing the back of her head where she'd been hit by a piece of falling rubble. "Just a little scraped up. Also..." she paused, waiting for her vision to adjust. Gray stone walls greeted her searching gaze, stretching on farther into the blackness to a place she couldn't currently see. The walls were broken up every ten feet or so by door-like rectangles carved into them. Bars lined the otherwise empty spaces, stretching both across the width of it and lengthwise so that they crossed in a grid pattern. "I think we found the dungeons."

"Really?" Skylar asked, ear pressed up against the doors in order to hear her better. "By the way, is Aki alright too?"

The answering groan was all he needed for the second question, but the girl took it upon herself to address the first. "Yeah, I think. How about we start looking for the girl now, and you find a way down from up top? We'll meet up eventually."

He was hesitant to agree, but then again, there weren't really any better alternatives. "Just...just be careful," the young captain said grudgingly. "Like I said earlier, I don't want you guys to die today."

"That goes for you too, you know." It was Aki who spoke this time, apparently over whatever had been ailing him before. "We don't want to be without a captain either, so you better stay alive on your own."

The other male smiled slightly, not that they could see it. "Sounds like a plan."

And with that, Skylar turned to face the rest of the room, eager to reunite with his friends as soon as possible. It definitely looked worse than the last time they'd been there. Fallen cutlery and dishes littered the floor, scattered there the other day in the crowd's rush to get out of the restaurant. Tables and chairs were overturned, the tablecloths that were once so clean and pristine now sporting dirty footprints and stains where meals had been overturned, and glasses lay shattered on the ground, making navigating the room that much harder. The boy was surprised that it hadn't been cleaned yet, but he could also think of a hundred reasons for why Acosta wouldn't want to, first and foremost being that he was too preoccupied with weeding out the resistance throughout the islands.

Yesterday, after the incident he'd staged to destroy the native's hope in them, he'd picked up on a few whispered conversations about how the archipelago wasn't safe anymore for those who were actively involved with the rebels. Their dictator was arresting people left and right, never to be seen again. While Marie was the main focus of this mission, if possible Skylar definitely wouldn't mind freeing others in the process, especially if it would instill more of a fighting spirit in the rebels.

His thoughts were brought crashing back to present when he tried the kitchen doors and found that they too were sealed tight. That left him with two options: the main entrance, which he refused to go out unless absolutely necessary, and then the one leading upstairs. Honestly, neither of those options were appealing in the slightest, but they were his only choices. And that meant he really only had one choice at the moment.

With much trepidation, Skylar headed for the remaining door, careful to avoid slicing his foot open on the broken glass or knives around him. It began to swing open before he even reached it, adding to his uneasiness and also his suspicion. There was a good chance that something was waiting for him in there, be it on the stairs or wherever they ended at, but he forced his frayed nerves to quiet and his heartbeat to calm. Being nervous would do nothing for him now. He needed to be alert and cautious in order to face whatever was ahead.

After another soundless moment of steeling himself, he took a deep breath and calmly opened his eyes, which up until that point had been shut tight in concentration. Grabbing the door, he opened it further and, without giving himself any time to hesitate, stepped up onto the first stair.

~X~

"Alright, blondie, let's move out," Mana said, levering herself up over the wall of debris separating her from the blond head she could just make out poking over the top. Aki was sprawled halfway on the the pile, his long legs and feet firmly planted on the stone floor while his top half lay wedged in between two large rocks. He was struggling to free himself from them, but seemed to be having difficulties. Luckily, he hadn't been hurt by the veritable boulders, or at least not that she could see. He shot her a glare.

"Little busy here."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Right. Need some help?"

Aki looked like he was about to refuse, but one of his more violent struggles managed to shift a rock. Problem was, it ended up falling back on his side. He grunted in pain, and that was where the redhead stepped in. Taking a rather large gulp of sake, even for her (she was starting to feel a little drowsy anyways), Mana slid down the pile to where her trapped companion was, sending stray pebbles skittering down to the bottom. She reached over the second boulder, the one not crushing him, and placed both hands on the one that was. Then, with a massive push that the girl still somehow managed to make look easy, she sent it rolling forward to hit the juncture between the nearest wall and the floor. She shifted her position so that she was now behind the other and proceeded to also shove that one to the floor.

"Told you drinking gives me super strength," Mana smirked at the boy, who was moving into a sitting position. Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him to his feet. The blond winced, his free hand flying to his injured side, but gave no audible protest as she towed him along. They passed by cell after cell, but all were empty. "What's the point of having so many cells if you aren't holding anyone prisoner?" the girl wondered out loud, gray eyes still searching the corridor for any signs of life.

"Simple," Aki answered, pulling them to a stop and pointing at a poster hanging in the space between the two chambers to their right that had caught his attention. "You need a place to hold all the people you're about to sell off as slaves."

Her eyes widened, both at his words and what she herself was reading off the paper. It was a flyer asking for fishmen to sell at the Shabody Archipelago, dated a few months back. The pieces of the puzzle that was this island began to fall into place in her head, not yet forming a whole picture but revealing a part of it all the same.

"That actually explains a lot," she murmured, tearing her eyes away. "But we can think about this later. Right now, Marie is our priority. Everything else has to wait." Mana felt rather than saw him agree, and the two pressed on. The passages seemed endless, but no matter where they went, the human girl that was the object of their search wasn't popping up. Finally, they spotted light at the end of the hallway, and they headed for that, eager for at least a change in scenery if nothing else.

The room they came into was large, it's domed shape reminiscent of the village they had left behind only a couple hours ago. This, however, was made entirely of stone, with lit torches positioned at periodic intervals around the circumference. Three tunnels, not including the one they had just entered through, branched out from it, and a large pit took up much of the center of the room. They could make out a narrow set of stairs spiraling along the inside of it, leading down into whatever lay below, but neither spared it more than a cursory glance because their attention was focused on the prone form chained to the wall opposite them, on the other side of the pit.

Short black hair hid the young woman's eyes, but not the numerous scrapes and bruises on her pale face. Her simple white shirt and black skirt were ripped in several places, more signs of a fight, and the cuts along her arms were made all the more visible by the way her hands were chained on either side of her head. Aki took a step forward without thinking, but Mana grabbed his arm again to stop him from moving any further.

"That's her. I know it," the blond said, blue eyes narrowed in anger. His friend nodded in agreement, but held him there all the same.

"Don't be reckless," she hissed warningly, gaze scanning the room warily. "This could be a trap, and probably is."

"Very observant."

The voice rang out of seemingly nowhere, startling the two. They both shifted into a ready stance, but made the mistake of moving away from each other. Instantly, a dark, humanoid shape flew out of the shadows created in one of the tunnels, heading straight for Aki. It latched onto his waist, and Mana only had enough time to register blue skin and a sword before the person was gone, taking the boy with them. She whirled in horror to see her friend being pulled into the pit, not even having enough time to call her name before he was over the edge and falling towards who knows what.

The redhead, still in shock from the suddenness of the attack, didn't even register the second form as it detached itself from the shadows of another tunnel and shot towards her until it was almost too late. She had just enough time to bring up her hands to block the punch hurtling at her, but it wasn't enough. She too found herself being thrown back by the force of the blow, harshly colliding with the wall behind. The crash knocked the wind out of her lungs, but the newcomer wasn't done yet. Without giving her a chance to catch her breath, they were already right in front, pinning her to the wall by her neck. Mana froze.

"In fact," the stranger cooed, mouth twisting into a cruel smirk. "I'm so impressed I think I'll let you choose how you want to die."

* * *

**Lots of talking in this chapter. Not that I mind, just commenting. I hope the boat scene wasn't too corny or anything for anyone to read, but I had to get that whole crew loyalty out of the way. Besides, it was fun/easy to write. The three of them are just so easy to write together! Despite that however, I don't really like the second half of this chapter very much. It was giving me problems. :p**

**For those of you who've been following up until this point, I just want to let you know that I've changed Skylar and Mana's bounties to make them more realistic. Skylar's is now 5,000,000, and Mana's is 100,000,000. I think I corrected them all already, but if you see one that hasn't been changed, please let me know. Thank you! Also, a big, big thanks to those of you who reviewed. I love reading them and hearing your thoughts on the chapter, and I'd love to hear them on this one too. ^^**


	11. Chapter 10: Shark

Legacy

Chapter 10: Shark

"...Let me choose how I want to die?" Mana repeated quietly, hair moving to cover her eyes. Her lips began to curve up into a small smirk, and a few giggles even escaped before she could stop them. "That's really generous and all, but..." She looked up suddenly, locking gazes with the other. Her gray eyes were hardened steel under a thin layer of amusement, and her attacker couldn't quite hold back a small shiver at the sight. The girl's smirk widened, revealing sharp canines that only served to make her seem scarier. "I'm gonna have to turn down the offer."

Without warning, she slammed one of her feet into their unguarded shin, while at the same time bringing a fist down on the exposed inside of the stranger's elbow. They grunted in pain, but she was far from done. The quiet whoosh of a blade being drawn alerted the other to this fact, but by then it was too late. The small knife that had appeared out of seemingly nowhere in her hand sliced upwards through their cloak, the blade tearing the cloth as it went.

Her opponent jumped back as if they'd been burned, releasing her from where she had been suspended a few inches off the ground. The second Mana's feet touched the floor again, she was off, darting at the other in a bright flash of red. Free fist raised, she punched at their head. At the last second, the person stumbled back a step in an attempt to dodge. Instead of stopping and trying again, the redhead simply let the momentum from the punch carry her in a pivoting motion, bringing up a leg and dealing a satisfying kick to their head. The blow sent them flying into the nearby wall, hitting it hard enough to crack the stone underneath.

This time, instead of following after them, Mana stopped and took a drink from the bottle at her waist. The other wasn't done, that she knew, and she wanted to be ready. A rustling noise reached her ears, and she turned to see the other pulling the cloak off, at the same time bringing up her knife in a defensive stance.

"Geez, you're a vicious little thing, aren't you?" The last of the cloth fell to the ground, fully revealing the young man beneath. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise even as he continued. "You didn't even give me a chance to think on that one. Chill out. Life's too short to be so serious, you know?"

She stared at him like he'd grown three new heads. "_What_?"

The weird thing was that it wasn't even his appearance that had her so shocked. And that was saying a lot, as he was quite strange. To put it simply, her opponent looked very much like a walking tattoo store catalogue. His original coloring was barely visible through all of the designs imprinted on his skin, though if she had to guess, the cook would have said he was very pale. The pictures themselves ranged from something as simple as the bright blue spiral on his cheek to the complex red Sea King playing across his stomach. He wore only a pair of dark purple shorts, as if he really was trying to advertise the designs covering his lanky frame. Limp brown hair partially covered his black eyes, which were big and curious.

"Is something wrong?" he questioned, not understanding why she sounded so shocked.

"You just _attacked_ me! Pinned me to a wall by my fucking throat!" Mana exclaimed, gesturing at the red marks adorning her neck. "I didn't even do anything to you, and now you're telling me to _chill out_?"

The other cocked his head slightly in thought, mulling it over. "Sounds about right," he agreed at length, a massive yawn stretching his jaw just as he finished speaking. "But think of that as a formality. It's just my basic jailor routine after all. Orders from up top," the jailor continued, pointing at the ceiling and, figuratively speaking, Acosta. "I'm usually a pretty nice guy, you know?"

"No, surprisingly, I don't know! The first thing you said was that you were going to kill me, so excuse me for not being able to see exactly what you're talking about."

"That's not true," he sulked, staring at the floor. "I complimented your intuition and guessing skills first."

"And then threatened to kill me," the girl responded flatly.

"I told you, that was just my jailor routine," the brunet protested, lips coming together in a childish pout. "I don't usually act like that. In fact, let's start over." In an instant, the pout was gone, replaced by a brilliant smile. "I'm Felix, and I work as a prison guard for Mr. Acosta. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"...You are absolutely crazy," Mana declared after a long pause, shaking her head resignedly. As she spoke though, a small, amused smirk began to play across her face. "But I guess that's alright. So are half of the people I meet. I suppose you'll want my name now too?" she guessed. He nodded in assent, and the girl sighed wearily. "Real or fake?"

The other seemed a bit taken aback at her response, but recovered quickly enough. "You have two names?"

"It's for personal reasons," the girl shrugged dismissively. "Anyways, which one?"

"Does it really matter what I say?"

She seemed to consider this for a moment. "No, not really. My name may or may not be Mana."

"Is it?" Felix raised an eyebrow.

"Who knows," was her cryptic response.

"You're not actually going to tell me if that's true or not, are you?"

"That's quite observant of you," Mana smirked. "No, as a matter of fact, I am not."

"You are a very infuriating person," he informed her blankly.

"Again, very astute."

"..."

"..."

It was Felix's turn to sigh this time. "Fine. Let's just move on. Why are you here? And be careful with your response, because it may determine your fate."

"Uh-huh," she rolled her eyes to match the deadpanned statement, but answered anyway. "I'm here 'cause the other people in my crew are morons."

"Crew?" he echoed, mildly surprised. "You're a pirate?"

"The cook of the Frozen Sky Pirates, as a matter of fact," the redhead replied proudly.

"The who?"

"Not important."

He didn't even bother. The information just wasn't worth the effort it would take to get it out of her. "That didn't tell me anything about why you're here though."

"Sure it did," she protested. "If you knew the whole story, you'd totally agree with me that it was a perfectly good summary."

"But I don't know the whole story," Felix reminded her.

"True," Mana bit her lip before pointing at Marie's still-prone form. "We're here for her."

The brunet nodded, having already guessed that by what he'd overheard the blond from earlier say. "That's what I thought."

"Then why the hell'd you ask?"

"Just wanted to make sure," he replied defensively. "You don't have to be such a bitch about it."

"Deal with it," she stuck out her tongue. "I _am_ a bitch."

"I've noticed," the man said dryly, smiling slightly.

"Are you patronizing me?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"You are, aren't you?"

"I already said I wasn't. Why won't you believe me?"

"It's a mystery."

For a moment after the girl's last comment, silence reigned as the two stared each other down, waiting for one to break. However, when Felix showed no signs of doing so, Mana suddenly broke into a large grin. She couldn't help it; it had been a while since she'd had an argument with someone quick-witted enough to actually keep up.

"You're fun to argue with," she informed him cheerfully.

"Same with you. I have to ask though, where do you get that boundless confidence from?"

"Boundless confidence," the girl repeated with a smirk. "That's such a nice way to say that I'm an arrogant bitch, which I believe we've already discussed. As for your question though..." she paused, a shadow passing over her eyes for the briefest of seconds. "It's because I know where I stand in the world. I know who I'm better than, and who's better than me. And you," Mana pointed a single finger at Felix, the smile from before returning to her face. "Are not better than me."

"Is that so?" The man narrowed his eyes slightly. His companion either didn't notice the change in his attitude or she chose to ignore it.

"Completely." That one word seemed to carry a strange heaviness as it left the girl's lips, alerting Felix to the fact that she had indeed noticed, and was now blatantly challenging him to act on it.

He smirked. Cocky brat. "Let's test that theory."

It was amazing how quickly a situation could go from light and teasing to filled with crushing tension. Or maybe the tension had been there all along, masked under their easy banter. To a casual observer, Mana would have seemed just as carefree as she had been only moments ago. In fact, only the slightest shift in her stance and barely-perceptible tenseness that rippled through her frame would have alerted even the most professional of fighters that she was preparing for an attack. She expertly flipped her knife around her wrist a few times, eyes cool and calculating.

Felix, unlike his companion, made no efforts to mask his preparations. He stretched his arms high above his head, working out any kinks before bending down to touch his toes. When he stood next, his dark gaze was fixed intently on the girl a few feet away, who was taking a quick sip from the sake bottle that had previously been hung at her side.

"Decided to use your final moments for one last drink?" the brunet joked grimly, raising an eyebrow. Mana rolled her eyes in response.

"You can go ahead and think that if you want," she offered cryptically. He shot her a questioning look, but decided not to pry. After all, very shortly it wouldn't matter what she meant by the comment.

For a long moment, they just stood there, sizing each other up and waiting for one to make the first move. However, that quickly became boring for Mana, and there was really only so much she could tell just by watching her opponent stand there. So it was time to take the initiative and start the fight.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

"Well? What're you waiting for?" the girl asked innocently, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Are we going to fight or not?"

"Ladies first."

"...Like I said," she grinned mockingly. "What're you waiting for?"

"Ouch," he cringed good-naturedly, refusing to rise to the obvious bait. "That was mean. And what, you don't consider yourself a lady?"

"Oh hell no," Mana snorted derisively, shaking her head vigorously. "A female I may be, and don't you even _consider_ thinking otherwise, but I'm no lady. Ladies have to act all fancy-like and wear those stupid long skirts."

"Well that wasn't a sweeping generalization or anything," Felix smirked.

"No. Just a fact."

"Uh-huh." The jailor didn't sound convinced. "Regardless, opinions and stereotypes aside, why don't you just start the fight yourself if you're so eager?"

"I don't like starting fights," she pouted, sticking out her tongue. "It's not lady-like."

"Oh goodness gracious," he sighed in defeat, giving her a withering look. "Fine, I'll go first since it seems to mean to much to you."

Felix leaned forward slightly, lifting a foot in preparation to take a step towards her. Skin met stone...

And then he was gone. Mana whirled quickly, bringing up her free arm to block the kick aimed directly at her side. She managed to catch the others ankle, slashing out towards where she knew his torso would be with her knife. The brunet wrenched his foot back just in time to jump back, thus avoiding the potentially fatal wound.

"Damn, you're fast," the cook whistled appreciatively, shifting her weapon into a more comfortable grip. "But then again, so am I."

She darted forward, feigning to the right with the blade. The man fell for it, moving in the other direction slightly to avoid the blow...only to be met with her fist as it connected with the side of his face. He was sent reeling back, but managed to grab onto his opponent's wrist as he fell. Felix twisted harshly, eliciting a hiss from the girl and at the same time forcing her to drop the weapon.

Ignoring the pain, Mana drove her foot into his stomach, forcing the other to release his grip on her arm, before taking a few steps back. Felix dropped to the ground with a thud, but a triumphant smile played over his features all the same.

"And you're strong," he coughed, gingerly rubbing the place she'd kicked as he struggled to his feet. "That's a powerful leg you've got there, and that punch earlier was pretty painful too. I'm definitely going to feel those in the morning. Where'd you learn how to fight like that?"

"Nowhere important," she replied lowly, reaching for her sake.

"It's got something to do with the alcohol, doesn't it?"

The redhead paused mid-drink, gaze shooting to him as she slowly lowered it. "...And if it does?"

"Then that's fine," the man shrugged. "Fighting's no fun unless the opponent is at full strength. It should be fair, and if sake's one of your weapons, I'm not going to try and take it or anything." He smirked, stooping to pick up the knife at his feet. "Besides, I've already got your other one."

For a moment, his companion was silent, still digesting the answer. Then, an answering smile slowly began to spread across her face. She reached for the right side of her sarong, lifting it to expose the black denim cutoffs underneath. That, and the three sheaths strapped to her hip. One was empty, the weapon presumably in Felix's hand. The others, however, still held their contents: two blades identical to the first. She pulled one out before letting the cloth fall back to it's original position.

"Correction," the pirate started, holding out her new weapon. "You have _one_ of my other ones."

"...How many weapons do you actually have on you?" Felix asked once he was done staring at her in shock.

"Quite a few," she said nonchalantly. "Using the same one all the time's too boring, you know? I like to spice it up sometimes. Besides, you never know what kind of person you're gonna fight, so it's best to be prepared. Why do you ask?"

"I just remember being told reports from the sailors who were down at the harbor the other day about a blond with two swords and his partner, a girl who fought with these odd chain things. That wouldn't have happened to be you and your friend, would it?"

"Guilty as charged," Mana winked, sticking out her tongue sheepishly. "But I only use those against people with weapons. You have to admit, a knife's much more useful in a situation like this, right?"

"That means you're one of the rebels then?" the brunet deduced, ignoring the second part of her comment. She shook her head.

"You give me too much credit," the girl snorted. "I fight for myself, and nobody else. You see, I'm actually a selfish, horrible person who doesn't care about anyone other than, well, _me_."

"Then why do you want to save her so badly?" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Marie.

"Personal reasons, but trust me, they're selfish."

"Uh-huh." Once again, the jailor didn't sound convinced, but he decided to let it slide and move on. "So...do you want to start this time, or should I?"

She leapt forward in place of an answer, halfway over before he could even react. Felix caught the punch aimed for his face, but couldn't quite avoid the kick to his side. Instead of letting that deter him, he made himself work through the pain, taking hold of her leg with his free hand. Moving the other to grab her unprotected waist, the man lifted the cook over his head, ignoring her shocked cry and the startled yelp that followed immediately after as Mana found herself being thrown through the air towards the wall where Marie was chained.

As she flew over the pit in the center, the redhead could just make out what looked like waves in the darkness at the bottom. Standing on what she assumed was a rock in the middle of the water was Aki, one sword drawn and searching the area for something. He later couldn't explain why, but for some reason he chose that exact moment to look up, and for the briefest of seconds their eyes met. And then she was gone, carried over to the other side by the force of the throw. The girl hit the ground hard, wincing as she scraped her bare arms and knees on the stone.

She quickly pushed herself to her feet, scanning the room for her opponent. He wasn't on the opposite side anymore, but instead rushing at her from the left. She brought up her knife just in time to prevent its twin from dealing any damage when Felix swung it towards her.

Sparks flew as the blades met, but neither fighter paid that any attention. Mana brought up a hand to punch him again, but this time Felix was ready, neatly catching it with his own. And now they were stuck, both of their hands occupied with neither willing to back down. Which brought it down to an intense power struggle.

The man may have been larger, but Mana was stronger thanks to the sake she had consumed only moments ago, making it a fairly even match. The jailor was so focused on holding his ground that he almost missed his opponent's next words.

"You figured out that alcohol makes me stronger, but do you know why?"

"I'd have to say it's probably some sort of Devil Fruit side affect," he replied.

"That is correct," she nodded before continuing. "Devil Fruits can do some pretty scary stuff, can't they? You know how alcohol is a depressant, right? Well, it's not for me. In fact, it has kind of the opposite effect: my senses get better, and I become stronger. You wouldn't want to fight me after I've drunk a whole bottle in one sitting. Hell,_ I_ wouldn't want to fight me like that. I've heard some scary-ass stories."

"You don't scare me," Felix grunted, pushing back against her monstrous strength.

"I wasn't trying to," she rolled her eyes. "Just give you an idea of my powers. Honestly, most of the time it's a real pain in the ass."

"I'd imagine being a pirate but not able to swim would get annoying after a while," he agreed wryly, gathering his strength. With an immense push, he managed to shove the redhead away a few feet before moving back himself, creating more space. She raised an eyebrow at the action, but didn't comment.

Nor did she say anything when he flung himself forward, fist raised to attack. The teenager tensed, already moving to dart away. But it was then that she finally realized exactly where she was, and what it would mean to dodge. Marie hung, immobile and helpless, just behind her. If Mana were to dodge the fist heading her way at that moment, a feat which was entirely possible, the older girl would take the hit. And if Felix could pick her up and throw her all the way across the room, she didn't even want to think about what his punch could do.

Without allowing herself to think about the complete idiocy of what she was about to do, the girl spun back into her previous position, spreading out her arms so as to protect the largest area possible. Her mind, which seemed to be going a mile a minute in comparison to the punch hurtling at her, could only seem to come up with one rueful thought.

_I'm such a hypocrite. We're not here to play hero: that's what I told the idiot, and look at me now._

She closed her eyes as the attack neared, preparing for the pain it would undoubtably cause.

"That's enough."

The words rang through the air in an unfamiliar voice, clear as a bell. The fist stopped just in front of the pirate's face, and Mana could actually feel the air push past her from the force the blow had been carrying. Startled, her eyes shot open, and the girl turned to face the source of the order.

Marie, looking very awake and fierce despite her compromising position, was glaring at Felix irritably. The redhead opened her mouth to tell the other female to please shut up and quietly let herself be rescued when the black-haired girl spoke again. And it was definitely not the words Mana had been expecting to hear.

"Geez, Felix, you think you put these handcuffs on tight enough?" she growled in annoyance, tugging at the restraints to prove her point. "I can barely feel my hands anymore, you moron!"

"That's not a very nice way to speak to the only person with the keys to the handcuffs," the man pointed out, withdrawing a ring of keys from his shorts' pocket with a long-suffering sigh. He deftly flipped through them until he came to a thick silver one, which was then used to unlock the cuffs on the bartender's wrists. Dropping into a sitting position, Marie began rubbing the circulation back into her hands, still glaring daggers at the jailor.

"Don't talk to me about being polite. _You_ weren't the one who had to suffer through being chained to a wall for an entire night!"

"Well sorry, your highness," Felix bit back. "Next time I'll make sure to ask Acosta for a prison cell with padded cuffs and a warm bed."

"That's all I ask."

"W-wh...what the hell is going on here!" Mana exclaimed, gaze moving back and forth between the two in confusion and shock. "You're a prisoner here! We came to rescue you!" She pointed at Marie, who gave the younger girl a sympathetic look.

"It was an act," she explained, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"I can see that now. What I'm asking is _why?_"

"Acosta has a habit of testing his prison guards." It was Felix who answered this time, a dark look on his face. "He doesn't trust anyone, and so every once and a while he hires someone to come in and try and rescue a few people. It's how he caught the people we snuck in here originally."

"We?" the pirate echoed incredulously. "So that means that you're..."

"A member of the resistance, yes."

"...I haven't drunk nearly enough to be able to deal with this," Mana sighed, rubbing at her temples. The other girl moved to pat her on the back comfortingly.

"I know it's confusing, but you've passed the test. We believe you."

"Why?" She felt like she was using that word far too much in this conversation, but it pretty much represented her general feelings at the moment. "How do you know? How can you trust me?"

At this Marie and Felix shared a look, then smiled before replying in perfect unison: "Because nobody in their right mind would ever believe you were here to rescue someone."

"What's that supposed to mean!" the redhead shot them both a glare, but it was half-hearted at best. The explanation was finally beginning to sink in, and it did make sense when she really thought about it.

"We've had some pretty odd characters over time, but they all seemed so focused on rescuing the people," Felix suppled, holding back his laughter. "And then you come along, more interested in a good fight than anything else. But you also proved that you have a heart, however hard you tried and convince me otherwise, and truly don't want to see others get hurt by protecting Marie just now. So we figured that either Acosta finally went and hired someone as crazy as he is, or you were the real deal."

"Speaking of before, what would you have done if she hadn't stayed there?"

"I still would have stopped," he protested, adding in at the end a quiet, "Probably."

"What was that last part, jackass!"

"Oh come on! You can take a punch."

"You mean you actually would have done it? You're dead! Come here!"

Mana allowed herself a quiet laugh as they chased each other around the room. Felix stopped dead at the sight, making his pursuer run into his back.

"What?" the redhead asked defensively at his stunned look.

"You should smile like that more often," he replied with a smile of his own. "It suits you."

"...Are you seriously trying to cheat on me with a younger girl?" Marie's words were threatening and dark, and Mana could almost see the evil aura radiating from her.

"No, I just-!"

"You." The teenager jumped slightly at the menacing tone imbued into that one word when the dark-haired girl pointed at her. "How old are you?"

"N-nineteen," she stammered in response, slightly afraid despite herself.

"See, she's legal!" Felix exclaimed, only to be silenced by a death glare.

"Barely!"

"I swear, I wasn't trying to cheat on you or anything! Don't kill me!"

Luckily for Felix, a shout interrupted their argument at that moment, followed by the pounding sound of feet on steps. Mana, recognizing the voice, shot up from her seat on the ground and sprinted over, nearly colliding with a blond boy at the head of the stairs as he ran out.

"What's-"

"No time. We've got to get away from the water!" Aki cut her off, grabbing her wrist and pulling the girl away at full speed just as a dark shadow launched itself out of the shadows in the pit.

~X~

_The minute he felt the arms fasten around his waist, Aki began to struggle violently against the tight grip, desperately trying to loosen the hold even as he and his attacker plunged over the edge and into the darkness below._

_"Let go!" he cried, having taken to beating the other with his fists. And suddenly, after a particularly hard blow that brought a groan of pain from the stranger, his wish was granted. The blond didn't get a minute to celebrate though, as only seconds later he was immersed in the frigid water that lay at the bottom of the pit. Reflexively, he kicked his legs out, heading for the faint light of the surface above. His swords were weighing him down, but letting them go now would most likely be suicide. _

_Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his head broke the surface. Aki gulped in the sweet air feverishly, spotting a dark mass to the side that he seriously hoped was a rock and not, say, a sea monster. Cautiously, he extended a hand to touch it. _

_A rock, thank goodness. He hauled himself up onto it, careful not to slip on the moss growing on the sides. There was very little light down here, the only illumination present filtering in from the room above. The swordsman was still within the circle of light cast by the hole, but was surrounded on all sides by darkness. It didn't help that it was freezing cold there too, and he was already wet. _

_"I guess I'm glad it was me and not Mana, since she would have just sunk," Aki reasoned quietly to himself. "But I really wish it wasn't so damn cold down here!"_

_"What were you expecting from an underground pool? A hot spring?"_

_The teasing female voice rang out through the cavern, instantly putting him on edge. He instinctively reached for one of the swords strapped to his back, but stopped when he registered movement from the corner of his eye. It had come from the water, more specifically the dark shape that was lazily swimming towards him. As it rose from the waves, the boy was just able to discern light blue skin, glowing golden eyes, and several rows of sharp, dangerous teeth. A sword was sheathed at the fishwoman's side, but that really wasn't his biggest concern. She was a shark, and a scary one a that._

_"Irma Neil at your service." She bowed as she spoke, but it came out looking quite odd considering she was still half in the water. "I believe it is always polite to give your name before anything else, so would you please tell me yours as well?"_

_"Akihiko Nakamori," Aki stated proudly, pleased with the attention._

_"I see. Thank you, and I will be sure to write it on your tombstone."_

_"You be- What?"_

_"No more questions." She shot forward, drawing her sword as she moved. The tip sheared off a few stray locks of hair on the side of the others head, but the blond had managed to dodge in time to avoid any serious injuries. His attacker landed neatly on the rock a few feet away, sword raised to strike again._

_"What the hell!" he exclaimed, hurriedly drawing one of his own weapons. "You're crazier than Mana!"_

_"I will take that as a complime-" Irma started, but was unable to finish as she was sent tumbling to the ground before she got the chance. Aki hadn't done anything. She had been taking a step forward, and then tripped over her own feet._

_"Did you just trip over your own-"_

_"Be quiet!" she cried, pushing herself to her feet. As she did though, her sword caught on a hole in the rock, wrenching it out of her grip and crashing to the ground. She had to go down again to pick it up, and by this time Aki was honestly wondering if maybe he was just dreaming this whole thing. _

_"You're...really clumsy, aren't you?" he finally asked. With the minimal lighting, it was hard to tell, but he was fairly sure there was a furious blush on her face._

_"No, I-!" Another step forward, and another fall. The blond was about to say something in response when he saw the flight of stairs behind the fishwoman. If he could get to that, he could get out, and more importantly, away from the crazy, clumsy Irma. With new purpose, Aki walked forward. As he passed, Irma made another stab at him, but dropped her sword again._

_He hopped onto the nearest rock without too much trouble, ignoring the cries of rage from behind. It seemed that there were six or seven stones that he would have to use to get to the exit, but none of them were very far away from each other, which would make it fairly easy. He glanced back, but to his unease didn't see the woman he had left there. He did, however, see the ripples moving towards him through the water, quick as lightning. The boy had just enough time to bring up his sword to block the strike before it came, just as deadly as before. It seemed she was more coordinated in the water, which probably wasn't good for him._

_Irma hopped up beside the blond yet again, readying herself to attack. But once again, she stumbled before she was able to take a step, and Aki was able to escape the the next rock. As he landed though, he had the strangest urge to look up. There had been a loud cry from above only moments ago, and for some reason he thought maybe he'd be able to see something. So he lifted his face skywards, and the boy was, for a single instant, able to see a startled Mana soaring in the open air above. Their eyes met. But then she disappeared, and he had to dodge another blow before moving on._

_It became a sort of system. He would jump onto the next rock, parry her first blow, and then move again as soon as she left the water. And it worked marvelously right up until the last rock, which was coated in moss. He slipped, falling on one knee with a grimace. It was hard to see, but when he stood again, it seemed to be only a small scrape. A single drop of blood was slowly forming, a small part breaking off when it got too large and gliding down his leg. Aki paid it no attention until he heard the murmur from the water behind._

_"Blood..."_

_It was Irma, but she sounded different. Rather than cool or upset, she sounded almost happy. Psychotic, even. He shivered._

_"Your blood...it smells good."_

_Hurriedly, he jumped onto the platform at the bottom of the stairs, a thankfully smooth, bare expanse of stone, before turning again. The sight of the fishwoman's smiling face met his worried blue eyes, but it was by no stretch of the imagination a normal smile. No, it was wide, showed lots of teeth, and seemed to exude craziness. He backed away instinctively. _

_Wrong move._

_Instantly, Irma jumped forward. This time, he was unable to completely block her attack, and the blade grazed his cheek. Her eyes widened maniacally, and her smile grew, if that was even possible._

_Aki backed away further, making for the stairs. It was all he could do to dodge the rain of blows, much less return some of them. What happened? Did his blood really make her go crazy? _

I guess she _is_ a shark, _he thought, finally managing to trap her sword between his two. At this point, he was on the fourth stair, while she was still only on the first. The blond brought his weapons upwards with a loud yell, ripping the weapon from the fishwoman's hand. She didn't seem to care. Even when he delivered a powerful kick to her stomach, sending her tumbling back off the platform and into the water, her mad grin didn't fade. _

_He had to get out of here, and fast._

_Fear gave his feet wings, and he sped up the stairs. The one time he looked back, he could see Irma in hurried pursuit, eyes glowing bright and sharp teeth gleaming. He almost collided with Mana at the top, and she tried to say something. But he had to time to talk, could only grab her wrist and try to get her away as well._

_The shark was approaching, and she wanted blood._

_

* * *

_

**Okay, so halfway through this I hit major writer's block thanks to Mana's fight scene. And then school started up, and that together with my sport leaves me with barely enough time to do my homework on some nights, much less write for fun. -.- Still, I finally finished, and I actually don't think I hate the result. (Obviously, I can't blame the chapter for me not having any time.) So yeah, thanks for bearing with me through the ridiculously long wait, and I really hope I haven't lost any of you. Please drop me a review, even if it's only to yell at me (who knows, maybe it'll motivate me to get the next chapter out in less than a month :p). Sorry again, and thanks! ^^**


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